KC Pays Final Respects to Derrick Thomas
Feb. 15, 2000
In the culmination of more than three weeks of shock and pain, thousands of mourners paid their final respects Tuesday to Chiefs star Derrick Thomas.
The list of dignitaries at the Kemper Arena memorial service was wide-ranging, from NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue to stars such as Washington's Bruce Smith and Oakland's Tim Brown to former Thomas teammates Joe Montana and Marcus Allen to country singer Hank Williams Jr. President Clinton sent a letter of sympathy that was read at the ceremony.
City officials estimated that 6,000 people attended the service. Others watched at home or in their offices as several local television stations beamed the ceremony live.
Many who attended wore red-and-white Chiefs apparel and buttons bearing Thomas' No. 58, giving the arena the flavor of Arrowhead Stadium on game day.
The body of Thomas, who died Feb. 8 in Miami from complications resulting from a single-car accident Jan. 23, was transported back to Kansas City so fans could say their goodbyes this week. Thomas' body will be flown to Miami today for a memorial service Saturday and for burial.
During Tuesday's service, which lasted more than three hours, 15 speakers shared their final thoughts about Thomas before the eulogy from Bishop Marvin Donaldson of the Greater Pentecostal Temple.
A most moving tribute came from Rahman McGill, a young Kansas City student in Thomas' Third and Long Foundation whom Thomas befriended as Rahman participated in the reading program.
The relationship of Rahman and Thomas "was a journey that was short in number of years but great in the knowledge and wisdom I gained," Rahman said. "Derrick was at his best when he was surrounded by young people. He was capable of nurturing and touching the lives of young people."
Rahman said Thomas nicknamed him "Justice" after he told Thomas his dream was to be a Supreme Court justice someday. Later, Rahman said, Thomas arranged a surprise visit from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
"He promised me a clerkship when I graduate from law school," Rahman said.
Betty Brown, Third and Long president, promised that Thomas' foundation would continue its work to combat illiteracy. To loud applause, Brown announced Thomas' mother, Edith Morgan, had been appointed honorary chairwoman.
"Derrick left me a job to do, and I'm telling you, Kansas City...I'm going to do that job," Brown said. "Derrick Thomas' Third and Long Foundation will live and live and live and live."
The ceremony included a short video program with highlights of Thomas' career, which spanned 11 years with the Chiefs and included nine Pro Bowl appearances. But many of the remembrances were of Thomas' community efforts.
"Where does one begin to even attempt to reflect on this young man?" said Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson, who built a close relationship with Thomas.
"This was a man who lived 28 hours in 24 every day. He lived 75 years in 33.
"He tried to be an inspiration for the youth of today who are making the same difficult decisions he had to 15 years ago."
Peterson recalled Thomas' annual drive around the holidays to buy food for needy Kansas City families.
"He would go around the locker room and coerce his teammates and demand of them at least $100, usually more," Peterson said. "Then he would ask how much the Chiefs would match it with. Then he'd say, `OK, that's what the Chiefs are going to do -- what are you going to do?' We would negotiate -- and how he loved to negotiate.
"Derrick would not only raise the money, he would buy the groceries...and personally deliver the groceries.
"I made a statement about this same hour last week. I said a light has gone out. I need to correct myself. The light merely dimmed briefly and then came back on. It's shining today brighter and bigger than ever."
Former NFL running back Bobby Humphrey, a friend and teammate of Thomas at Alabama, said the tales of Thomas' good deeds in Kansas City were no surprise. Thomas, a social-work major, performed many of the same services while at college.
"Derrick Thomas wrote the book on how to be a social worker," Humphrey said. "His dorm room was like the counselor's room."
Longtime friend and agent Leigh Steinberg talked of Thomas' entrepreneurial pursuits, which at various times included a haberdashery, a limousine company and a roofing company.
"His creativity, his imagination, was simply astounding," Steinberg said. "Today, he would call with an idea for a set of trading cards that could rock the country. Tomorrow, it might be about an Internet site. It was always something."
Chiefs coach Gunther Cunningham said he remembers Thomas each time he gets into his car. Cunningham's car spun Jan. 23 on the same icy highway -- Interstate 435 -- as Thomas' vehicle in his accident.
Cunningham escaped, scared but unhurt. Thomas' vehicle went out of control, rolled several times; Thomas and one of his passengers, close friend Mike Tellis, were thrown out.
Tellis died on the spot. Thomas was paralyzed from the chest down. Neither was wearing a safety belt. A pulmonary embolism eventually killed Thomas only a few days after he was allowed to spend some time out of the hospital because he was progressing so well.
"It's taken Derrick's passing to buckle my seat belt," a somber Cunningham said. "But I will wear it every time I get in my car."
from kc star
