The Detroit Lions clinched their first win of the season on Sunday against the Washington Commanders. Rookie Aidan Hutchinson had a record-breaking game, tallying 3 sacks in the first half of the game.

While many athletes play for a loved one or cause, this rookie said this game was dedicated to 5-year-old Hudson Gazsi, who was recently diagnosed with leukemia.

“I was just telling (Detroit Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) this game is dedicated to Hudson, who is a kid who just got diagnosed with Leukemia. He’s a big Lions fan, he’s from my area,” Hutchinson said after the game. “I sent him a video before the game. He was cheering me on.”

A date that changed everything

On September 7th, life as they knew it changed for the Gazsi family.  Hudson, the youngest of the family, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.  Hutchinson’s mother connected with Hudson’s mother after learning about his story on Facebook.  

Ahead of the Lions’ Commanders game on Sunday, Hutchinson sent Hudson a video.

“Just keep pushing through, man,”  Hutchinson told Hudson in the video.  “Just keep pushing through and keep hanging in there. I know you’re kind of going through it right now, but hopefully you find a little motivation in watching our game on Sunday and keep rooting for me and put on the little eye black to support me and I’m gonna have you on my wrist on my game tape in a couple hours so it’s gonna be a really good time and I can’t wait to meet you, man. Go Lions.”

Hutchinson posted a picture on Instagram today of his wrist tape from game day.  On it he wrote “HUDSON” in big letters.  The caption on the photo read, “I love what I do.”

“I’m just happy to have good games to spread causes to kids like that,” Hutchinson said in a post game interview. “Just raise a lot of awareness for things like that.”
Hutchinson became the first Lions rookie to record 3 sacks in a single game on Sunday.

If you are interested in donating to Hudson’s family you can visit their GoFundMe page here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/hudson-ford-tough-help-hudson-beat

Maddy Miller – Detroit Lions Beat Reporter

On Twitter @madelynvmillerr

Photo Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports