The Sports Xchange

Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas’ mother has been in prison since 2000 for drug trafficking. She’s never seen her son catch a pass in person, but now that is likely to change.

On Monday, President Barack Obama announced he was commuting the sentences of 46 drug offenders including Katina Smith, Thomas’ mother.

“God is good,” Thomas wrote on his Facebook page. “Great news today, My Best lady come home November 10. Godbless.”

Smith, along with Thomas’ grandmother, were convicted of trafficking and sentenced in 2000 to 24 years in a federal prison.

Smith now is scheduled to be released on Nov. 10. Five days later, the Broncos play the Kansas City Chiefs in Denver.

“These men and women were not violent criminals, but the overwhelming majority had been sentenced to at least 20 years; 14 of them had been sentenced to life for nonviolent drug offenses, so their punishments didn’t fit the crime,” Obama said in a video on the White House Facebook page, via The New York Times. “I believe that America, at its heart, is a nation of second chances, and I believe these folks deserve their second chance.”

Smith has never seen her son play in person. She was sentenced when Thomas was just 12.

But her story has inspired her son, who has not shied away from talking about his mother or grandmother.

“They drive me more to know that they’re there and they’re watching me,” Thomas said, via Pro Football Talk. “I try to go out there and play my best because they’re going to talk about it to the people in the jailhouse.”

Thomas’ grandmother, Minnie Pearl Smith, is a three-time offender and not eligible for a reduction in her sentence. During a court hearing, Smith was identified as the main player manufacturing and selling crack.

Thomas’ mother was characterized as the banker of the operation. She rejected a plea deal and was sentenced to 24 years.