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Thomas leaves 'vibrant imprint'
Posted: Tuesday February 08, 2000 04:16 PM
Following the news that Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Derrick Thomas has died from an apparent heart attack, CNNSI.com spoke to Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Silver, who knew Thomas professionally and personally. Silver reflected on how the nine-time Pro Bowler will be remembered -- and what Thomas meant to his friends, the Chiefs and Kansas City. CNNSI.com: When you were in Atlanta at the Super Bowl, you mentioned that many NFL players there had heavy hearts just knowing that Derrick Thomas was in the hospital. And this adds the ultimate layer of sadness to the news of the accident. Michael Silver: It's such a loss to the NFL community, because Derrick brought so much life and energy not only to his on-the-field performance, but to the way he approached life as an NFL star. To him, being in the league was one big party -- that's not to say he was always being festive or irresponsible, because obviously he worked his butt off -- but so many athletes achieve success and then either get uptight about it, change or become overly comfortable with their new status. Derrick did it the way he was supposed to. He stayed true to himself and he allowed himself to smell the roses. CNNSI.com: You've referred to Thomas as the NFL's "social butterfly." What did you mean by that? Silver: Even the thought of him being confined to a wheelchair was a sobering one, because of all the people in the league, he was the one constantly bouncing around and throwing himself into different situations and groups of people. Maybe if you took every NFL player and asked them who they'd rubbed up against socially and who they'd had a meaningful social experience with and you polled them, Derrick Thomas might be in first place. CNNSI.com: How will his off-the-field accomplishments be remembered? It also seemed like he was almost the antithesis of the dumb jock -- socially aware and generous. Silver: And totally self-made. He had some help from teachers and family members in the past, but he grew up under tough circumstances and very easily could have ended up on the street or in jail or worse. But he's a guy who really used his mind and his body to pull himself out of that. The most significant legacy he leaves behind is the way he tried to impact young people, by showing up at the public library and reading to kids and constantly giving time, money and energy to try to help kids. For all the fun Derrick had, it was always balanced by a total commitment to giving back. Derrick essentially had a full-time employee who ran his charitable enterprises. I don't know too many players who do that. And the thing that's really sad is that this guy had just an impeccable career -- he was clearly one of the great players of his era -- and yet his Monday Night Meltdown last year, which was so uncharacteristic and so out of the blue, made a lot of casual football fans think that he was this junkyard dog of a guy. I'm sure Derrick deeply regretted what he did against the Broncos. To me it was such an anomaly that I'm just going to purge it from the memory banks and remember all of the great and classy things the guy brought to the game. CNNSI.com: What do you see as his legacy as a player? Silver: Derrick sometimes was criticized for disappearing in long stretches, but I look at it another other way. This was a guy who at any given time could simply dominate a game, completely change it -- whether it was one play that changed the game or him bringing a quarterback to tears with six or seven sacks. In 1994, the 49ers went to Kansas City to play the Chiefs and Joe Montana. It was an extremely emotional game in what is probably the loudest stadium in the league. Derrick was the living embodiment of that Arrowhead Stadium noise. It just seemed like he got his pass rush started a second earlier than the ball was snapped. He hit Steve Young so hard, so many times, that late in the game Young was bending over the bench and vomiting repeatedly. Young knew he had to go out and face Derrick again, and I'm sure he wasn't really thrilled about it. But I've witnessed Derrick do things like that several times. Other than Lawrence Taylor and Reggie White I can't think of a front-seven defensive player I've seen who could even come close to that. I called him up two seasons ago, when he made the Pro Bowl for the seventh straight season and I said, "That is just an unbelievable achievement for a pass rusher." My reasoning was that guys like Bruce Smith and Reggie White were great run-stoppers, so even if their sack numbers are down, they'll still make the Pro Bowl. But the only way Derrick Thomas makes it every year is if he's getting to the quarterback. For him to put up those numbers year after year after year ... About a week later I ran into him at the Chiefs hotel and he ran up to me and said, "Whaddaya mean, for a pass rusher?" As I tried to explain myself and he raised his voice to say, "I not a pass rusher, I'm a football player!" Then he just sort of laughed. CNNSI.com: What does his death mean for the Chiefs? Silver: It leaves a hole in Kansas City. Not only does this guy mean everything to that franchise and everything in that lockerroom, but he was just like this killer bee buzzing around town. A lot of people in that community loved Derrick Thomas. CNNSI.com: How will his friends remember Derrick Thomas? Silver: I think they're going to remember that energy, that smile, the way he sucked the marrow out of life. Rather than letting life come to him, he got right in the mix. He left a vibrant imprint on everyone and everything he touched. A couple years ago, I was sitting at a bar with Derrick and a bunch of players. And one of them, I think it was Vaughn Booker, who had played in the Canadian Football League, was talking about his aversion to playing in cold weather. And Derrick, who grew up in Miami and obviously played in heat quite a bit, said, "Hey, 135 degrees, I'm the best player on the field ... 35 degrees, get my ass to the lockerroom." There were a lot of moments like that. He just had a way of making his point with humor. I think the energy he brought to the football field was an extension of the
whirlwind of activity that was Derrick Thomas. In a way, and I don't want to go
too far with the self-destructive overtones, because I don't think he was
self-destructive, but he was sort of like a rock star. He lived life to the
fullest, thoroughly enjoyed every minute, and he made the spotlight follow him
around rather than hiding from it. And he died young, living life in the fast
lane,
literally.
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