New Orleans Saints superstar tight end Jimmy Graham sat down with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols to talk about his painful childhood of being abused and not loved by his biological mother.
Graham shares a very sad story about when he was just 11 years old, his biological mother drove him to a local group home for juvenile delinquents/orphans, and unexpectedly dropped him off.
After 9 months of pleading for his mother to take him back, she eventually gave in and brought him back home. However, Graham’s troubles continued to exist because his mother’s live-in boyfriend would beat him for no reason on a regular while his mother would ignore the situation.
A few months later, Graham’s life took a turn for the better when he decided to attend a local church. While attending prayer service one day, Graham met a church volunteer by the name of Becky Vinson, who eventually started to take an interest in the future NFL star. After learning about Graham’s home situation, Vinson decided to take him in to her home.
After finally feeling a sense of love and having a place he could call home, Graham eventually attended college at the University of Miami where he ended up playing basketball and football.
During Graham’s last college game before getting drafted to the NFL, his biological mother showed up out of the blue to see him play. At that meeting, Graham told his biological mother that “he forgives her, but he will never forget” how she treated him as a kid.
Although Graham’s biological mother is still trying to rekindle their long lost relationship, he considers his adoptive mother Becky as his real mom to this day.
Watch the heart felt story below:
Photo/Video Credit:ESPN