Seriously. I want to know. It seems like every year Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas is celebrating the release of a relative from the hoosegow. And these aren’t little prison sentences and they aren’t just wrapping up on their own. So far none other than President Barack Obama himself has commuted the prison sentence of Thomas’ mother and, on Wednesday, his grandmother.
Wanna Thank the @POTUS for everything he's done for my family, and a lot more families giving them second chances. Couldn't be a better day!
— Demaryius Thomas (@DemaryiusT) August 3, 2016
How deep did this Thomas crime ring go? It’s like the poor guy was living in Pablo Escobar’s vacation house.
Minnie Pearl Thomas, DT’s grandmother, was serving two life sentences for cocaine trafficking. It’s the same charge Thomas’ mother, Katrina Stuckey-Smith, was serving 20 years on when President Obama commuted her sentence last year. Stuckey-Smith was able to watch DT play an a football game for the first time. His mother and grandmother were both busted when he was 11 years old.
Minnie Pearl Thomas will be officially released on December 1 after serving 16 years. That’s a year longer than Katrina, who could have walked a decade and a half ago if she’d testified against her mother. So say what you will about these Thomas women, they’re loyal.
Minnie Pearl was one of 214 prison inmates that saw their sentences commuted. Minnie just turned 60 so if she was going to get out, this was definitely the time. Minnie and DT should both give a special thanks to Denver outside linebacker Von Miller too. It was during the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 celebratory visit to the White House that Thomas campaigned personally to President Obama on his grandmother’s behalf.
“I just found out right when I cam in from weights,” Thomas told the Denver Post. “I had no idea. I was surprised. I was excited too, it came this early. I heard 200-plus people get to have a second chance, and for my grandmother to be one of them, it’s a blessing.”
The grandmother of Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas was pardoned by President Obama. https://t.co/I7eVjwMHxu
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) August 4, 2016
There’s a lot about this story that really strikes me, but the first is the blessing it was that Minnie and Katrina were arrested and sent away when Thomas was 11. And yes, that’s harsh, but DT seems like a good person. He was never in trouble as a kid, in college and since he’s been with the Broncos. His aunt and uncle who raised him did a terrific job and he’s a model citizen today. If his mother and grandmother had been around? His life might have been very different.
So while there are some serious questions about mandatory minimum sentences, in this case it all worked out for everybody. Thomas was taken away from dangerous and bad influences and was able to flourish. Minnie and Katrina got a chance to pull their lives together, atone for their mistakes, and now really get to know their son as the outstanding man DT has become.
In all, President Obama has commuted the sentences of 562 different people since he’s taken office. I hope they all have similar happy endings to their stories as the Thomases.
Foles heads back to Missouri
Former St. Louis Rams and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles is going to reunite with the head coach that drafted him. Foles signed a one-year, $1.75 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs Friday, taking him off the market and returning all the guaranteed money Foles coughed up to be released by the Rams last week.
The contract comes with incentives and an option of the Chiefs to re-sign Foles in 2017 that could be worth anything from $6.75 million to $16 million based on what he does for the Chiefs this year. If Alex Smith stays healthy, that won’t be much.
.@MikeGarafolo with the latest on Nick Foles https://t.co/Pa4bKmh1zU
— GMFB (@gmfb) August 4, 2016
Smith has been outstanding since the Chiefs traded for him in 2013. In fact, Smith has been great since he was first paired with a good head coach. You can track the poor guy’s career by who was calling the shots. When Jim Harbaugh showed up in San Francisco, Smith was great. Before that he was a bum.
Last year Smith led the Chiefs to an 11-5 record, completed 65.3 percent of his passes for 3,486 yards, 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He added 498 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground.
Foles went 4-7 as a starter with the Rams, completing 56.4 percent of his passes for 2,052 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
