Commanders Rookie Chris Rodriguez Jr. Motivated by Late Mother: 'She's Proud of Me'
When Chris Rodriguez Jr. was drafted by the Washington Commanders in the sixth round, he was surrounded by 50 friends and family members.
“Man, it's a lot," Rodriguez said. "I tell you that it's a lot. It's a lot of people in there. I got my dad, aunts, uncles fiancé, her family, cousins. Man, you go down the list, it's a lot of them. If I could pinpoint a few, I would, but it's none that stand out more than the other.”
However, there was one person's absence that stood out, his mom Stephanie Thornton.
Thornton passed away in January 2022 after a battle with Lupus and the Commanders rookie spoke about her impact in his life in his post-draft press conference.
“It means a lot," Rodriguez said. "I tell everybody, like my mom, she's my biggest motivation in life. It's hard I'm not sharing this moment with her, but I know she's looking down. She's proud of me and I continue to make her proud.”
Someone that can relate to Rodriguez's situation is Commanders head coach Ron Rivera, who lost his mom Dolores during the season.
After beating the then-undefeated Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 15, two weeks after her passing, Rivera was emotional during a speech to the team.
"My mother would have been proud," Rivera said as he held back tears.
With the Commanders, Rivera has found ways to build team camaraderie and togetherness, and it looks like he has that with him and Rodriguez as their moms look down.
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