Tee Higgins recalls mom being shot in head by her drug dealer and how childhood shaped his NFL career
TEE HIGGINS vividly remembers the horror of his mom getting shot in the head by her drug dealer when he was just six years old.
The Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver then agonised as doctors performed life-saving surgery on her skull during his traumatic childhood.
Third-year star Higgins, 24, recalled the day he was pulled out of kindergarten just after lunch by his teacher in 2005.
He saw his then 17-year-old sister Keke in floods of tears in the school office as she came to collect him.
Higgins arrived home in Oak Ridge, Tennessee to a crime scene with dozens of officers and the house taped off.
His mom Camilla Stewart had already been airlifted to hospital for an emergency operation.
Higgins wrote in the Players’ Tribune in 2020: “I remember all of these police cars and the ambulance and all I wanted to do was see my mother, but no one would let me.
“I’m crying and my sister’s telling me she’s going to be OK, and we’ll see her later. I didn’t want to hear any of that because I just wanted to see my mom.”
A young Higgins lived alone with his mom and remembers the nights he woke up and she had disappeared.
He used to sprint over to his grandma’s home in the middle of the night, and credits those harrowing times for his incredible speed.
Higgins explained: “I had no idea what she was into at the time. I was so little, you know what I mean? She was just Momma.
“I didn’t know she was using. Had no idea she was addicted to crack. To me, things were just the way they were. When you’re six, you don’t really question all that much.
“It’d be pitch black out, middle of the night, and I’d run outside and book it to my grandma’s place a few houses down the street — crying the whole way there.
“I’d be in my pyjamas basically, a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Bare feet. I’d absolutely pound on my grandma’s door when I got there.
“And my grandma, God bless her, she always answered. Then she’d just give me a big hug and hold me tight.
“The more I think about it, the more I realise that I was pretty much always running as a kid. And most of the time it was as fast as my legs would go.”
Higgins’ mom and dad were in and out of prison for most of his childhood and it was only after a stint behind bars that Camilla finally got clean.
She was released from prison to a rehab facility in nearby Knoxville where Higgins went to visit her.
She’s now 15 years sober and a care worker after completely turning her life around.
Higgins said: “She’s healthy and happy and doing great! When people ask her why she changed her life around, she immediately mentions me and my sister.
“She wanted to be a better mom and to show us the love we deserved and to be there for us in all the ways that she hadn’t before.
“Once my mom got better and was able to turn things around, she’s been the most amazing mom imaginable.
“Whatever issue I’m having, it’ll never compare to what my mom went through, by overcoming drugs, getting shot and being sober all these years.
“Seeing her in the stands with my jersey on, and a huge smile on her face. It doesn’t get any better than that for me.”