An 11-year career spent mostly with the Denver Broncos and short stints with the Tennessee Titans and New York Jets was headlined by one single play. When you think of Demaryius Thomas, you think of the 2011-12 playoffs against the Steelers when Tim Tebow hit Thomas on a slant over the middle for a 75-yard touchdown on the first play of overtime to win the game.
Forever etched in the history of football as one of the all-time great plays, no one and nothing could take that from Thomas. But something could take his faculties, his sense of self, and ultimately his life in the end; and that something was CTE.
Thomas died on December 9 of last year at age 33 after suffering a seizure in his home, passing from what was deemed suffocation. In the last year of his life, a once-charismatic and bright light in the football world was described as erratic. He suffered from memory loss and paranoia–all descriptions that constitute “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy” symptoms.
CTE is a degenerative brain disorder linked to hits to the head, like those taken in the game of football. There is no cure for CTE, merely support groups to help cope with depression or other medical struggles that come with the disease.
Thomas’ seizure episodes were initially thought to be brought upon by a car crash in 2019. The seizures led Thomas to crash other cars and fall down steps.
Dr. Ann McKee studied Thomas’ brain after he passed, and along with other Boston doctors, diagnosed Thomas posthumously with stage 2 CTE. Dr. McKee stated seizures are not commonly linked with CTE, so Thomas may have been dealing with two conditions.
Regardless, the disease should not be overlooked. It affects many NFL players later in their lives, and we lose so many too soon. Hopefully, Thomas’ loss was not in vain, and there can be some information sought out from the study of his brain.
Despite football taking a toll on his life just before his passing, Thomas has a very special connection with the game. Thomas was born to a 15-year-old mother, Katina Smith, on Christmas in 1987 in Montrose, Georgia. When he was 11, federal agents arrested his mother based on money connected to drugs and a conspiracy to distribute cocaine; she was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Thomas stayed with his father’s sister, Shirley, after bouncing from home to home while his father, Bobby Thomas, was off in the military. Thomas was bullied in school because of his mom’s prison sentence, but used track, football, and basketball as a place of comfort.
Thomas battled through lots of injuries in high school. “He would always say, ‘You know how I was raised, you know how I was trained, I’m not going to let my team down,’” said Paul Williams, Thomas’ high school basketball coach.
For all his hard work, Thomas was selected 22nd overall in the 2010 NFL draft by the Denver Broncos. When Peyton Manning joined the team in 2012, Thomas’ career took off. He had five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, and in 2013, he set a then-record with 13 catches in the team’s Super Bowl loss.
Two years later, the Broncos made it back to play in Super Bowl 50, but with a new fan in the stands. That was Thomas’ mother Katina. Thomas and family had tried and tried to get her sentence shortened for years, and after a letter was written to Barack Obama by Thomas himself, the former President commuted Smith’s sentence.
The Broncos would go on to win the Super Bowl with both of Thomas’ parents in attendance – watching their son capture his lone championship title.
In the wake of Thomas’ death, former teammates and communities of Thomas have looked for ways to honor him. Manning has started two scholarships in his name for students in Denver and at Thomas’ alma mater, Georgia Tech. In Dublin, Georgia, city officials are planning Demaryius Thomas Day for Saturday, July 16, where residents will release 88 balloons, signifying Thomas’ uniform number with the Broncos.
Cherish all the great moments life has to offer. And honor Thomas, plus the many other athletes who experienced similar plights, further by spreading the word about CTE so a cure can one day be found.
