Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning gave teammate Demaryius Thomas the game ball Sunday so that he could give it to his mother, Katrina Stuckey Smith, a convicted drug trafficker whose prison sentence was recently commuted by President Barack Obama.
The Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 23-16 in the divisional playoff round. It was the first game Smith had ever watched the Broncos star receiver play football because she had been serving a prison sentence since 1999 for “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base” in Georgia. (VIDEO: NFL Star Went Unrecognized During Hilarious Powerball Interview)
Great seeing @DemaryiusT mom get a chance to watch him play! Great win! #BroncosCountry #PITvsDEN #AFCChampionship pic.twitter.com/HzQ7SjkBO2
— Marquay Baul (@MarquayBaul) January 18, 2016
She had been scheduled for a 2017 release from prison, but Obama granted that Smith’s sentence would expire on Nov. 10, 2015.
“These men and women were not hardened criminals, but the overwhelming majority had been sentenced to at least 20 years. … So their punishments didn’t fit the crime,” Obama said last year. (PHOTOS: This NFL Legend’s Daughter Is Smoking Hot)
Thomas finished with 40 receiving yards.