Snoop’s son pursued football so his famous father ‘would love me’

In mid-August, it was announced that UCLA wide receiver Cordell Broadus, the son of rapper Snoop Dogg, had decided to give up football because he wanted to pursue interest other than the sport. As it turns out, Broadus’ famous father was a significant reason for the son taking up the sport to begin with.

In a happy birthday missive posted on Instagram, Broadus revealed that, in the beginning, he thought playing football was the only way to get his dad to love him be and have a presence in his life.

Here’s Broadus’ entire, heartfelt birthday message to his dad.

I played football for my father because I thought that was the only way he would love me & be apart of my life. It took me 12 years to realize he loves Cordell Broadus the person not Cordell Broadus the football player. The best day of my life was when I heard those exact words; I love you dad hope you have a great birthday.

While Broadus may have originally played the sport to appease his father, he was actually pretty good at it, at least as far as the recruiting rankings go.

A four-star member of the Bruins’ 2015 recruiting class, Broadus was rated as the No. 27 receiver in the country and the No. 3 player at any position in the state of Nevada. Broadus was part of a pitched recruiting battle that saw the prospect opt for UCLA over cross-town rival USC, which is his father’s favorite school.