Two weeks after being critically injured on the football field, Atlanta native Christion Abercrombie began breathing on his own, Tennessee State University said late Sunday.

Abercrombie, 20, is no longer on a ventilator and his condition has been upgraded to stable, the University posted on Twitter. The Tennessee State linebacker, an Atlanta native and Westlake High School graduate, was critically injured during the Sept. 29 game against Vanderbilt.

Abercrombie was rushed to nearby Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery for a neurological injury. Following surgery, he remained in critical condition, though his family said Abercrombie showed small signs of progress. Late last week, his mother said he squeezed her hand.

In a Twitter post Sunday night, the Tennessee State football team said Abercrombie had been breathing on his own for more than 24 hours.

Citing his privacy, no specifics have been released on Christion’s diagnosis. But his mother previously said she and other family members attended the game and never saw her son get injured.

Christion Abercrombie is a linebacker for the TSU Tigers and a graduate of Westlake High School in Atlanta.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. (center) is flanked by GOP whip Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. (left) and Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, as Thune speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Earlier Tuesday, the Senate passed the budget reconciliation package of President Donald Trump's signature bill of big tax breaks and spending cuts. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

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