Fernando Mendoza’s mom, Elsa, delivered a touching speech at a party celebrating the quarterback being selected first overall by the Raiders on Thursday night.
Speaking in front of a crowd of family and friends, Elsa praised her son’s character as much as his football journey.
“You make me so proud — your kindness, your humility, your faith. I just can’t say enough … I’m so proud to be your mom,” she said.
She then ended the speech with a fitting nod to Mendoza’s new team.
“Go Raiders,” she said.
Moments after he was picked Thursday, Mendoza could be seen on the NFL draft broadcast sitting alongside his wheelchair-bound mother, who has multiple sclerosis (MS), inside his childhood home in Coral Gables, Fla.
He and Elsa hugged just before he put on his Raiders hat and made rounds across the room.
Mendoza wasn’t in attendance for the draft festivities in Pittsburgh, Pa., deciding to celebrate at home with his mother, who has difficulty using her limbs in certain capacities and has trouble traveling.
The former Indiana quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner has previously called his mom, who was diagnosed with MS 15 years ago, his “best friend.”
“My mom really wanted to do it at home, and so did my parents. It’s a lot easier for us,” Mendoza said on “The Rich Eisen Show” earlier this week.
“Especially with the family situation. I’m going to hop on a plane (in) the morning anyways. For that, it will be a lot easier to stay at home. I wanted to stay and make the memory with everybody who poured into my football journey. Mentors, coaches, family, friends, we want to share that memory with all of them is going to be the best memory that I could hope for, rather than limit it to 10 or 12 people in Pittsburgh.”