A viral video of a mother-son hug after a football game has sparked a great debate online.
The video, originally posted to Instagram by the mother Amber Lund, shows her teenage son holding her completely off the ground in a post-game celebratory embrace.
Lund captioned the video:
"This boy will forever and always have my entire heart."
"Gina captured the end of this moment, and I’m SO grateful. When I walked up to hug my baby boy after his game, he immediately picked me up and just held me."
"It may have been 20 seconds, 30 seconds, a minute, I have no idea. But in this moment, time stood completely still."
"I honestly don’t know what I did to deserve you @brix_wright but I am thankful every second of every single day for you."
You can see the moment below.
Eventually, this video made the rounds on social media and had lots of viewers chiming in...especially once the viewers realized the woman is the player's mother.
Um. Ok.\n\nDoes anyone NOT think this is weird?— Amiri King (@Amiri King) 1693779890
Many, many felt the hug was a bit inappropriate.
@AmiriKing Wow. I have two boys that play football, and\u2026 just no.— Aleah (@Aleah) 1693787096
@AmiriKing Is that his mother? \ud83d\ude33— Juliette (@Juliette) 1693780408
@AmiriKing That was so disturbing that it took me a second to understand it.— Jan Svet - XX - No DMs (@Jan Svet - XX - No DMs) 1693799834
@AmiriKing Very weird. I have 2 boys and would NEVER do that.— Candace\ud83c\udf38small-town girl (@Candace\ud83c\udf38small-town girl) 1693793650
@AmiriKing That's his mom?? Oh my...— Lisa Fast (@Lisa Fast) 1693839979
@AmiriKing I mean, I love all of my sons. But\u2026.not like that. That\u2019s too much.— Coconut Unicorn \ud83e\udd65\ud83e\udd84 (@Coconut Unicorn \ud83e\udd65\ud83e\udd84) 1693833156
Others, however, felt the embrace was nothing more than celebratory affection.
@AmiriKing Not really. Parents and their kids on any and all of these elite football teams rejoice in crazy mannerisms. Who am I to say they\u2019re wrong just because it\u2019s weird? But, it\u2019s been the same for decades.— Mathew (@Mathew) 1693831540
@AmiriKing I think this is beautiful and should be normalized— Daniel (@Daniel) 1693864062
@AmiriKing She is excited and happy for her son, nothing wrong with this. Clearly they have a great relationship and love each other very much— Kate Martinelli (@Kate Martinelli) 1693785955
@AmiriKing Not weird. She is proud and a lot smaller than her athlete son.— Ultra Maximus Reviews (@Ultra Maximus Reviews) 1693810552
@AmiriKing That's a happy mom celebrating her son's achievements. I have no problem with this at all. If my mother were still alive, I'd lift and hug her the same way.— Bobby Paul Johnston (@Bobby Paul Johnston) 1693830845
Amidst the criticism drawn from the video, Lund posted a follow-up using a series of text screenshots from her son that explained the game marked the first time he wore the jersey bearing his new number, 44, which reflected the date his father died by suicide two years prior, 4/4/21.
Her son shared that the moment was very emotional for both of them and added:
“My mom is my hero."
“All it was was a big hug from me to her.”
@therealjeffreyross/Instagram
@therealjeffreyross/Instagram
@therealjeffreyross/Instagram
@therealjeffreyross/Instagram
@therealjeffreyross/Instagram
@therealjeffreyross/Instagram
@therealjeffreyross/Instagram
@therealjeffreyross/Instagram
@therealjeffreyross/Instagram
@therealjeffreyross/Instagram
@therealjeffreyross/Instagram
@mikeredmond/Bluesky
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social