HOUSTON — He plays a great game of football on the field and can play Santa Claus off the field. Houston Texans' safety Justin Reid brought a belated Christmas gift to a local family that wasn't able to celebrate the holiday season.
Blaine Hipp's father was injured in a drive-by shooting off of the Katy Freeway on Christmas Eve. He's been in the hospital ever since. He's on his way to recovering, but his family was too busy worrying about him to enjoy the holidays.
Reid heard the family's story and decided to step up. He took Blaine to Dick's Sporting Goods on Friday for a holiday shopping spree. Blaine got to pick out all of the clothes, shoes and sports gear that he wanted with Reid's help.
"It's a really unfortunate situation that just happened with his father," Reid said. "I heard about it and heard he didn't really get to celebrate Christmas. I don't think he even knows what's exactly happening with his father right now."