ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Bills Mafia is helping raise money for another charity, this time for a player who has yet to play a snap for the team.
It all started with a post from Bills Mafia Babes to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter on Wednesday. The post touted that wide receiver Keon Coleman, the team's first pick of the NFL Draft last week, supported a charity known as Hope for Opelousas. The nonprofit works with kids in need to provide mentorship and empowerment in Opelousas, La.
"We’ll be working with them officially soon, but it’d be a shame if they woke up to donations from the Mafia," Bills Mafia Babes said in the post.
It didn't take long for Bills Mafia to get to work after that. As of 9:15 a.m. Friday, Hope for Opelousas said it had raised more than $160,000, thanks to Bills fans.
Some fans donated in increments of $33, in honor of him being the No. 33 overall pick in last week's draft. Others who were feeling more generous donated $78.89, which is how much Coleman said it cost to buy the Macy's puffer coat he wore during Saturday's introductory news conference which went viral.
The Bills' selection of a wide receiver was no surprise, following the team's trade of Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans in early April. What stunned some fans, though, was that the Bills traded down twice, and out of the first round completely, before taking Coleman with the first pick in the second round.
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