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Demaryius Thomas of the Denver Broncos speaks to the media during Super Bowl XLVIII media availability January 27, 2014 in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas’ mother, Katina Smith, has never seen her son play professional football in person.
In 1999, when Thomas was only 11 years old, Smith and her mother, Minnie Pearl were arrested for narcotics trafficking, ESPN reports. Smith received 18 years and Thomas’ grandmother was sentenced to life in prison.
According to ESPN, President Obama commuted Smith’s sentence in July 2015 along with 45 other non-violent drug offenders who had served a majority of their time on what would now be considered an unfairly harsh punishment.
Thomas’ hope is that the wait might be over and his mother barring any setbacks will be able to finally see him play in Sunday’s AFC divisional-round game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium.
“That’s what we’re working on,” Thomas told ESPN Wednesday. “Hopefully. That’s the goal, though.”
According to the sports site, after Smith’s sentence was commuted “she was released from prison, she went to a halfway house in Georgia, Thomas’ home state. Smith was cleared to leave the halfway house in November, and Thomas has said she has been staying with relatives.”
Thomas believed that his mother would be able to see him play a game before Thanksgiving but Smith was required to wait 60 days before she could leave the state.
“Yeah, she can travel now, so we’re working on that,” Thomas told ESPN. “It would mean a lot. It would be her first game. I would be excited. I know she’ll be excited. It would mean to see her first game live.”
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