Black athlete Demaryius Thomas‘ mother and grandmother will cheer for the Broncos receiver around the prison TV

The two women have never seen Thomas play in person. He was 11 when police burst through the door of their home in Montrose, Georgia, and arrested both in 1999. Police allowed Katina Smith to walk her son and his two younger sisters to the school bus one last time. Now she’s at a minimum-security prison in Florida, sentenced to 20 years. Her mother, Minnie Pearl Thomas, who had two previous drug convictions, received two life sentences with the possibility for parole after 40 years.