Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas penned a first-person piece about his mother, who was recently released from prison.
In mid-July, shortly before he signed a new five-year, $70 million contract with the Broncos, .
His mother, Katina Stuckey Smith, who had been incarcerated for more than 15 years for operating a cocaine ring with Thomas’ grandmother, was one of 46 nonviolent drug offenders whose sentences were commuted by President Barack Obama.
Last week, after spending nearly three months in a halfway house, Smith was released. Although Thomas had hoped she would be able to see him play against Kansas City on Sunday, the terms of her probation .
But soon she will be able to see her son play football live for the first time.
On Monday, following to the Chiefs on Sunday, published a first-person piece by Thomas on what the last 15 years have been like for him and what it means knowing that she will soon be in the stands of Sports Authority Field watching him play.
Recently, I’ve been getting asked a lot of questions about my mother. It’s a little bit overwhelming. Her story is complicated. But this is what I want you to know about my mamma: She loved me. That’s the most important thing in the world.
My mother finally got her freedom last week. She’s restricted from traveling for 60 days, so I still have to wait a little bit to see her in the stands. But that’s not what matters. What really matters is that I’m going to get to hug my mother again. I can call her any time I want now. I don’t have to wait for her call. It’s a small thing, but it means so much. She got her little cell phone for the first time. We’ve been talking a lot. She says she wants to race me. She still thinks she can beat me.
The other day, we were talking about what she wants to do when she gets out, and it made me realize how much time we had lost. She said, “You know what I want? I want to get a Walkman.”
We got a lot of catching up to do, Mamma. I love you.
Thomas has dedicated the Broncos’ November schedule to imME.org’s November Campaign to raise funds and awareness for the orphans of the world as part of Orphan Awareness Month.
To donate to his campaign go to .
