DT’s Mom Sees Her First NFL Game
The divisional round that saw the Denver Broncos barely edge the Pittsburgh Steelers in January 2016 on their way to a Super Bowl victory was not the best day for Demaryius Thomas from a statistical standpoint.
Emmanuel Sanders led the team in receiving yards that day, and Thomas finished with 4 receptions for 40 yards and no touchdowns. Typically, not a day a receiver will remember for years to come.
However, this day would prove to be especially special for DT, and his stats couldn’t have been less important.
This was the day Demaryius Thomas’ mother, Katina Smith, was able to attend a game in person for the first time in her son’s professional football career. In fact, it was Smith’s first time cheering her son on from the stands since he had been in junior high.
Smith was imprisoned on narcotics trafficking charges, along with her own mother, when DT was just 11 years old, and both were released in fall 2015 when former President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 46 nonviolent drug offenders (per Sports Illustrated).
Though the game ball was officially awarded to Peyton Manning, he made sure Demaryius Thomas had the opportunity to present the game ball to his mother.
On DT’s behalf, Broncos Country was enamored with the sweet nature of Katina Smith and the obvious love and pride she had for her son. Though the game itself was maybe nothing that will be remembered twenty years from now, the jubilation surrounding DT’s mom finally getting to see her baby boy play will be.