PITTSBURGH -- Artie Burns has found a football fan club in an unusual location: the Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, South Carolina.
Artie Burns Sr. has been telling fellow inmates about his son's football ascension, and he listened to the 2016 NFL draft on a prison-issued radio. A few days later, an 803 area code appeared on Burns' cell phone, a clear indication dad was approved for a call. Once he picked up, Burns heard all about the celebrations inside those walls when the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Burns with the 25th overall pick.
Burns was an 11-year-old boy when he last saw his dad, who walked out of the living room in the fall of 2006 and said he'd "be right back.