Tee Higgins is currently playing his third season with the Cincinnati Bengals. As a young wide receiver, he has been improving each year, gaining recognition for his skills, especially in the last game with a spectacular 46-yard touchdown, contributing in the team’s win. Despite his progress on the field, Higgins has kept his personal life, especially details about his father, private.

While he has shared some thoughts about his mother in the past, he hadn’t opened up about Eric Higgins until a day ago. On the “I AM ATHLETE” show, Higgins talked about his personal relationship with his father and also revealed the lowest phase of his life that led him to close himself in the dark.

The woman behind the fortitude of Tee Higgins

In a latest episode of “Mobil 1: Behind the Drive with Tee Higgins” on the “I AM ATHLETE” show, Tee Higgins shared his toughest period of his life. Born to Eric Higgins and Lady Stewart in January 1999, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Tee talked about his father’s presence, which was limited due to Eric’s time in prison. In the video, the wide receiver revealed, “I grew up with obviously my father was in my life but know he was in prison for the most part and he had finally was able to get out, finally got to come see me play football.”

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He expressed the joy of having his father back, attending his NFL games. But sadly, his father passed away, just before his birthday and before a Steelers game last year in August. Higgins addressed this moment as “one of the lowest points of my life, because I was just so happy to finally have him back….and it’s hard to stay strong when he passed away.” The 24-year-old continued with a heavy voice, “I was in my house, dark house, no windows turn on, no lights for like two days. It was hard, but what kept me strong was my mom.” Higgins found his strength in his mother, who, despite her own struggles, inspired him to overcome challenges, as she has bounced back from “rock bottom.”

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The Bengals receiver also emphasized that witnessing his mother’s resilience gave him the confidence to face any difficult situation. Higgins’ parents separated when Tee was very young, and he wasn’t capable of understanding it all. As a result, the mother and son duo were very close to each other.

Furthermore, years after a nightmarish incident from which both mother and son emerged unharmed, the duo lived their Super Bowl dream in 2022.

A dream come true night for Higgins family!

In the Super Bowl 2022, the Bengals and Los Angeles Rams battled with each other in the finals. As playing the SB final is the dream of every NFL player, this was also a dream of Tee Higgins and his mother. According to Higgins, having his mom at the Super Bowl was unbelievable, especially after enduring past struggles. Surviving substance addiction and a gunshot wound when he was just 6, his mother’s presence felt like a miracle.

In an interview, she expressed her excitement about seeing her son play on such a big stage. Tee Higgins was equally emotional, as the mother-son duo had dreamt of this moment. Unaware he would reach the SB at such a young age, Tee said, “This is something we dreamed of.”

During his mother’s illness, his father and aunts cared for him, and Tee struggled to see his mom suffer. His mother explained that she knew Higgins’ father her entire life and was clean when they were together. After the breakup, she later relapsed. Seeing all these struggles in his life, Higgins has now become a strong man with the ability to overcome his difficult situations easily.