Demaryius Thomas' Mom Prison Sentence Commuted - May See Him Play Football for the First Time

Sunday's game between the Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers is a big one for obvious reasons. However, for Demaryius Thomas, it's not just a spot in the AFC Championship they're playing for. For him, it could mean something a little more personal. His mother could see him play in a football game--at any level--for the very first time, as she has been in prison for the past 15 years.

After being incarcerated for nearly two decades, Katina Smith, Thomas' mother, was one of 46 prisoners to have their sentences commuted by President Obama. The idea was to reduce the number of non-violent drug offenders in prison serving sentences that didn't match the crime.

Smith was arrested in 1999, along with Thomas' maternal grandmother, Minnie Pearl, for narcotics trafficking. Her original release date had been scheduled for 2017. Pearl remains in prison, serving a life sentence.

While Smith has been out of jail since mid-November, she wasn't able to attend a game before this weekend due to a strict no travel policy for 60-days after her release. That time, however, is now up.

"Yeah, she can travel now, so we're working on that," Thomas said, via 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 a lot to see her first game live."

In November, Thomas wrote a piece for the Players Tribune in which he talked about his tough childhood and upbringing--from seeing his mother arrested to staying with whatever relative would keep him for a night. He talked about the empathy he has for the millions of kids like him who grow up with no parents and what it would be like to finally see his mother again, and in the stands at one of his games at that.

"This summer, I was back home in Georgia when I got the news. President Obama commuted the sentences of 46 nonviolent drug offenders. My mother was one of them. She was finally going to be free. She was going to get to see me play football. For the very first time. In the National Football League.

"I couldn't wrap my head around it. I still can't.

"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."