15: The journey of Jerome Bettis

“So I told him, Jerome, you're not going to speak out. You're not going to say anything. You're going to let them do this to you” 

Jerome “The Bus” Bettis was drafted 10th overall in the 1993 NFL draft. His career saw him play through 13 football seasons, his final 10 played out with the Pittsburgh Stelers before he retired after the 2005 season. A decade later and he found himself on the receiving end of the ultimate nod from the league as he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  

His mother Gladys “Mamma” Bettis takes us back to the beginning of Jeromes journey, growing up in Detroit. From his first years playing football, through college, draft days, the Super Bowl, right up to watching him give his emotional Hall of Fame speech.  Mamma Bettis has supported her son through thick and thin, even when that meant parking up field side to watch his High School games with an inhaler at the ready.