Before making a decision, it can occasionally be helpful to have the whole picture, particularly in cases where images or videos become popular on social media. Sadly, that wasn’t the case for Utah mother Amber Wright, 38, who saw a video of herself giving her 16-year-old son a hug during a high school football game.
In an Instagram video, which was uploaded on August 17, he is seen scooping up his mother, who then gives him some words of support while straddling her legs around his waist. Naturally, it went viral on social media, with many people calling it “inappropriately affectionate” in the comments section.
“He picked me up and just held me when I walked up to hug him after his game,” the mother captioned the photo. “I don’t know if it was 20 seconds, 30 seconds, or a minute. But for a little while, time stopped altogether. Sincerely, I’m not sure what I did to merit you [Brix Wright].
For those who were unaware of the whole context, the remarks were offensive and nasty. One user said, “Oh you’re one of THOSE moms.” “Literally thought this was his girlfriend tf,” said one user, and “Come on guys,” said another. She is a *COOL* mother, not just a *regular* one.
The happy mother took a minute last week in an interview with TODAY to address the embrace and stand up to the hurtful remarks. “I never thought it would become a situation where people would say things like, ‘You’re abusing him sexually!'” He’s being trained by you! “I’m going to call child protective services,” she declared.
She continues by describing her family as being quite loving. “We are just like what you seen on the football field. Brix will lift me up, give me a squeeze, and then set me back down,” the mother-son exchanged, revealing that the encounter was intensely emotional for a very depressing and heartbreaking reason.
On April 4, 2021, two years ago, Brix Wright, the son, lost his father to suicide. He chose to memorialize his father this year by wearing the number 44 (a tribute to the day his father died, 4/4/2021), even though he usually wears the number 58 when he plays football. She had never seen him wear it during a game before.
Brix Wright Honors and Stands Up for His Mother
On September 6, Amber Wright shared a screen grab of a letter her son Brix penned on Instagram to a worried user, requesting an explanation of the circumstances. In a sincere letter, he thanked his mother for being his hero and gave a detailed account of his father’s suicide in 2021.
“My mother is a hero to me.” She did not jump on me when I picked her up after the game; I was just giving her a hug. He spoke of his mother, saying, “My mom has been the only person there for me my entire life.” He also mentioned his father, an alcoholic who was “great when he was sober” but would “come and go” as he pleased.
He continued by saying that although his mother had attended every football game since he began playing, his father had never done so. “Last year, my dad took his own life. This year, I changed my phone number to 44 to commemorate his passing. She had never seen me wear it in person before.
Although the hug may have appeared “inappropriately affectionate” from the outside looking in, we can never truly know the full context of a given instant. Sadly for the mother-son team, the internet was too fast to evaluate their moment for what it wasn’t and didn’t take the time to comprehend it.
