On Sunday, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith made one of the big plays in a 20-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in a regular-season rematch of Super Bowl LIX.
By Tuesday, the former Alabama All-American was sweeping across social media – but not because of anything he did on the field. Instead, a jersey signed for an ovarian cancer patient caught the interest of football fans.
On Monday, Theresa Schmus posted a video on TikTok of her mother in a hospital room to show how Smith and his fiancée, Mya Danielle, had brightened the patient’s day.
By 8:30 p.m. CDT Tuesday, the TikTok post had 143,500 likes.
“My mom was having a tough morning and a long chemo session,” reads text on the video, “and couldn’t stop talking about how much she loves DeVonta Smith. I took a risk and DMed his wonderful fiancée on Insta(gram).”
Schmus wrote she asked Danielle if she sent a jersey could Smith sign it for her mother.
“Instead,” the text reads, “she drove to the hospital herself and hand-delivered my mom a signed jersey with a card. My mom has never had a jersey and never been able to make it to a game in her life. To say she was shocked is an understatement.”
At the end of the video, added text reads: “To Mya and DeVonta, we cannot thank you enough for bringing some light into a grim day.”
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Schmus’ note with the video provides more background: “My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer about four years ago. She’s been battling recurrence and recurrence, and one thing that keeps her going is her love of Philly sports. Whether it’s a Phillies, Flyers, Eagles or Sixers, she never misses a game.”
Smith is in his fifth season with the Eagles after joining the team as the 10th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Philadelphia picked Smith after he won the 2020 Heisman Trophy for Alabama’s undefeated CFP national-championship team.
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