{"id":44017,"date":"2025-04-26T02:45:28","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T02:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=44017"},"modified":"2025-04-26T02:45:28","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T02:45:28","slug":"nfl-first-round-draft-picks-mother-tragically-died-just-hours-after-her-son-was-selected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=44017","title":{"rendered":"NFL First Round Draft Pick\u2019s Mother Tragically Died Just Hours After Her Son Was Selected"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"Tragedy
NFL Draft stage (Photo By Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Derrick Harmon should have been celebrating the biggest night of his life. Instead, he spent it saying goodbye. Just hours after the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0selected the Oregon defensive lineman with the 21st overall pick in the 2024\u00a0NFL Draft, Harmon\u2019s mother, Tiffany Saine, passed away.<\/p>\n

During his first media session as a Steeler, Harmon revealed to reporters that his mom was on life support. His plan was simple, go straight to the hospital and share the news that he had made it to the\u00a0NFL.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s at the hospital right now on life support,\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0he said, pausing for a moment.\u00a0\u201cIt was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I\u2019m very excited. After I get off the phone with you guys, I\u2019m going to head straight to the hospital and tell her that her son got drafted.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bittersweet Moment Turns Heartbreaking<\/h2>\n
\"Tragedy
Derrick Harmon with his mom (Photo Via X\/@espn)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to\u00a0Pittsburgh Post-Gazette<\/em>\u00a0reporter\u00a0Gerry Dulac, Tiffany Saine died shortly after Harmon reached her side. He managed to deliver the news- his dream had come true- and then she was gone.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Saine had been a fighter all her life. When Harmon was a freshman at Michigan State, she suffered a stroke that left her paralyzed on her left side. That moment changed everything for the young lineman. In the years that followed, she endured eight brain surgeries, each one testing her strength, and his. Harmon never forgot her sacrifice. He even used earnings from his NIL deals in college to buy her a wheelchair-accessible van.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n