Tee Higgins pictured with his mother Camilla, who has overcome her battle with drug addiction. Higgins described his mother as 'a true fighter' who has been sober for 12 years 

ESPN has issued an apology for a graphic used during the network's NFL Draft coverage identifying Cincinnati Bengals pick Tee Higgins's mother as someone who 'fought drug addiction for 16 years.'

The network had been running 'Get to Know' graphics about each player drafted, typically featuring a few basic facts about the individual's college career or his background. But when Higgins was taken with the 33rd-overall pick on the second day of last week's NFL Draft, ESPN shared his mother's difficult past with its audience.

'Mom, Camilla, fought drug addiction for 16 years,' read the final bullet point.

ESPN vice president of production Seth Markman issued an apology statement through the Washington Post: 'It was a mistake and we apologize for it. We want our draft coverage to personalize players and, where appropriate, acknowledge the obstacles they've had to overcome on their journey to the NFL. This graphic lacked proper context.'

Higgins, a star wide receiver at Clemson, did not take any issue with the graphic.

'I'm proud of my mom for turning her life around for me and my sister!' Higgins wrote on Twitter in response to a post criticizing the network's choice of graphics. 'I have no problem with them showing the world that my mom is a true fighter.'

While Higgins did not criticize ESPN for the graphic about Camilla, the detail about her drug abuse stood in stark contrast to the other bulleted items on the screen. ESPN's other anecdotes included the former Clemson wide receiver's home town (Oak Ridge, Tennessee), his high school basketball career (Louisville, Auburn, and Tennessee offered him hoops scholarships), and the fact that his sister Keke played basketball at Middle Tennessee State

Higgins is not ashamed of his mother's past, and believes her struggles show she's a fighter

Tee Higgins's mother Camille (right) was pictured alongside her son after an early-season win

Higgins has been open about his mother's past, telling reporters at last month's NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis that she had been 'in and out of prison' during his childhood.

'Her story is why I'm here,' Higgins said. 'She kept me playing football. Now that she's 12 years clean, she's unbelievable. I want to have her stress-free. I don't want her to work anymore. I just want to have her living her best life.'

While Higgins did not criticize ESPN for the graphic about Camilla, the detail about her drug abuse stood in stark contrast to the other bulleted items on the screen.

ESPN's other anecdotes included the former Clemson wide receiver's home town (Oak Ridge, Tennessee), his high school basketball career (Louisville, Auburn, and Tennessee offered him hoops scholarships), and the fact that his sister Keke played college basketball at Middle Tennessee State.

Higgins is expected to be a main target for the Bengals' first-round pick, Heisman-winning quarterback Joe Burrow, whose LSU Tigers defeated Higgins's Clemson Tigers in the NCAA title game.

A picture on Tee Higgins's Instagram account showing him as a child in mother Camilla's arms

In addition to being named Tennessee's Mr. Football in 2015 and 2016, Higgins was also a finalist for the state's Mr. Basketball superlative before graduating high school in 2017 

The biggest criticism of ESPN/NFL Network's coverage was that discussions too often were focused on the personal tragedies in each prospect's life, which ended up dominating the telecast at times. The storytelling and off-the-field stories are a huge part of ABC's coverage the first two nights while many expected ESPN to stick more to the X's and O's.

Markman said they have seen feedback on social media and that it is something they will evaluate in the future in order to strike the right balance.

'Our intention is in some cases talk about and celebrate the obstacles these kids overcame in an amazing moment. If that's not coming across as well that is something we need to look at,' Markman said. 'Our company puts a huge emphasis on storytelling. We don't go as in-depth on the human stories on the ESPN coverage, but we do need to self-scout a little more. If three straight kids are picked who have overcome huge obstacles, we have to be disciplined in our approach so that it doesn't take too much of a turn.'

Despite the obstacles presented by the virtual draft amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Markman said he was overwhelmed with how everything came together over the three days.

Clemson receiver Tee Higgins pictured during the 2019 title game win over Alabama 

It also ended up being must-see TV as the first significant live sporting event since the coronavirus pandemic ground everything to a halt. The draft averaged a record 8.4 million viewers over all three days, according to the NFL and Nielsen. The previous high was 6.2 million last year.

'I thought a coach or general manager might put a towel on the camera or point it another direction, but there were zero issues,' Markman said. 'There were a couple times that we lost a feed or two, but it quickly came back.'

After early concerns about how the NFL could conduct a virtual draft, everyone appeared to end up having fun with it. Coaches and general managers embraced their children or spouses being on camera and draft picks got to watch from home comfortably instead of waiting in a green room.

Even normally stodgy New England coach Bill Belichick got into the spirit of things by giving his dog, an Alaskan Klee Kai named Nike, some television time.

'I thought coaches and general managers were going to lock themselves in a room and it was the opposite. Every time I looked up there was more family around,' Markman said. 'I think it speaks to the coaches that when this is done, they can remember it is OK not to be in the office at all times.'

Each day attracted record audiences. Thursday's first round averaged 15.6 million, Friday's second and third rounds 8.2 million and Saturday's final four rounds 4.2 million. ESPN and NFL Network had a combined production all three days while ABC had separate telecasts Thursday and Friday before simulcasting the ESPN/NFL Network feed Saturday. ESPN Deportes also had a separate broadcast.