Ardmore, Okla. – DUI, arrested, suspended: These are all words Jacksonville football fans associate with suspended Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon. However, there's a story about him that never made the local headlines; a story News4Jax found only by going to Blackmon's hometown in Oklahoma.
News4Jax was in Carter County District Court in Ardmore, Oklahoma, in June as Blackmon and his father, Warren Blackmon, walked into a judge's courtroom together. Blackmon was to be sentenced June 8 after pleading guilty to his latest misdemeanor DUI charge.
Ardmore police arrested Justin Blackmon in December 2015. Blackmon failed field sobriety and Breathalyzer tests after being pulled over.
Blackmon's run-ins with police started in 2010, when he was arrested in Texas on a DUI charge. He was in college then -- a wide receiver for Oklahoma State University. It was also the year he met one of his biggest fans, a child who quickly became a loyal friend.
Olivia Hamilton, who was 7 years old at the time, had just been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in November 2009. Twenty-year-old Blackmon and his OSU teammates invited Olivia and other children fighting cancer to the university for a "Coaches Vs. Cancer" charity basketball game.
WATCH: Justin Blackmon still a hero to many in his hometown
Because she was so young, Hamilton had no idea the incredible athleticism and huge fan following Blackmon had as a star college athlete. He was unstoppable on the field.
In fact, Blackmon's accolades still adorn the walls of the OSU weight room, the wide receiver's second home, recognizing such honors as the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver. Blackmon is only the second college player to ever win the Biletnikoff Award twice, which he did in consecutive years.
All Olivia knew for sure was that Blackmon was the one player with whom she connected. The two became instant friends.
PHOTOS: Blackmon befriends Olivia and her family
When Olivia's playmate died of cancer, Blackmon was a pallbearer at the girl's funeral. When Hamilton beat cancer at age 10, Blackmon was there for her hospital celebration.
During our trip to Oklahoma, we met the Hamilton family -- not far from the children's hospital in Tulsa where Blackmon visited Olivia during her cancer treatment.
For a friend who's done so much for her, Olivia told us about the time she found his locker during a tour of the OSU football locker room before a big college matchup. She left him a present: a red, rubber bracelet.
"It says 'Liv's laugh beats ALL,' which is acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and that's what leukemia I had," Olivia told News4Jax.
Blackmon has worn Hamilton's bracelet ever since. We even saw it on his wrist as he sat in court last month; the bracelet faded from years of wear.
Blackmon's father, Warren Blackmon, was by his son's side in court. While he declined to speak on-camera with News4Jax, he smiled while recalling with us his son's relationship with Olivia.
"Olivia and her family are awesome, awesome," he said.
Sitting and talking with Olivia, it's clear the sadness she feels for Justin Blackmon's current struggles.
"Is there anything that you would want to say? Any words of encouragement?" News4Jax asked her.
While she didn't verbally respond to the question, Olivia shook her head no with tears falling.
Olivia and her parents, David and Jennifer Hamilton, were Blackmon's guests at the 2012 Fiesta Bowl in which the wide receiver was a star player.
WATCH: Joy Purdy’s interview with Olivia’s family
Months later, Blackmon flew the family to New York to be with him for the 2012 NFL Draft -- the year he was a first-round pick for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
"So what was your reaction when they said the Jacksonville Jaguars? Were you good with that?" News4Jax asked Olivia.
"I was OK, but I knew that we would miss him," Olivia responded.
Blackmon was the highest selected player in the NFL Draft out of Oklahoma State University since Barry Sanders went to the Detroit Lions in 1989.
Though Blackmon's extraordinary talent would make him a first-round draft pick for the Jacksonville Jaguars, his problems with substance abuse also followed him to the River City.
Shortly after being drafted, in the spring of 2012, Blackmon was arrested for a second time -- in Stillwater, Oklahoma. His blood-alcohol level was reportedly three times the legal limit.
Blackmon was suspended twice during 2013 for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, and is currently suspended indefinitely by the NFL.
Then in July 2014, Blackmon was arrested a third time, this time in Edmond, Oklahoma. He eventually pleaded "no contest" to marijuana possession.
"It's sad that people look at him, 'Oh, he's screwed up his life,' but regular people do this every day," said David Hamilton, Olivia's father.
That's also what we heard from disappointed fans we spoke with in Stillwater, Oklahoma -- Blackmon's old stomping grounds.
"Mistakes are made and things happen down the road, and that's part of life," said Adam Sisco, who grew up attending Oklahoma State football games and is the general manager of Louie's, a popular restaurant and bar near the OSU main campus.
Sisco said he remembers fondly a young Justin Blackmon stopping by the place.
"I remember kind of seeing him when he was a young man. He had the braces on, you know, I mean just a big smile," Sisco recalled. "We were so excited when he got drafted. It was so great, you know, local hero."
Sisco doesn't consider Blackmon's fall from football fame a black eye for OSU, and would love to see the embattled wide receiver again someday.
"It's just kind of heartbreaking to see somebody you know -- that nice and that well-mannered -- end up like that," Sisco said. "It just kind of hurts."
WATCH: Interview with Adam Sisco
Blackmon did try to reapply to the NFL in the spring of 2015, but was denied.
About eight months later, in December 2015 in his hometown of Ardmore, Oklahoma, his fourth and latest arrest happened. Blackmon pleaded guilty and is currently attending court-ordered DUI classes. He'll be sentenced for that arrest next month.
While Blackmon remains suspended by the NFL, his rights are still retained by the Jaguars, and he could try to come back again. Sisco said he would like to see that happen.
"We're proud of those guys, you know, regardless of what they've encountered on down the road," he said.
The Hamiltons believe, for Blackmon, football should come second to finding help for substance abuse.
"The way I look at it, I would rather him not play another down in the NFL and just get treatment, get better," said David Hamilton, who was very emotional.
"He was a hero and a big football star. But to us, he was someone who made my daughter smile," Jennifer Hamilton explained. "We love him, and we are always praying for him and have his best interest at heart."