Success Is A Thomas Family Affair

If you want to know about Earl Thomas III, the best person to ask, of course, is Earl Thomas II.

That’s exactly what Bill Wixey of Q13 FOX did earlier this week, sitting down with ET III’s dad, ET II to talk about his son’s journey from rural West Texas to become an All-Pro safety for the Seattle Seahawks.

The elder Earl spoke on how, from a very ripe age, he saw a unique quality in his son that Earl III continues to carry onto the field to this day, as one of the NFL’s best players.

“I knew Earl was a special athlete, probably starting at Little League,” Thomas said. “He always separated himself from the other kids through Little League, junior high, high school. When he was eight years old, he was catching better than 14- and 15-year-olds. I groomed him practically from his mother’s womb. I used to exercise him as a baby.”

Earl II explained how he would do some basic arm and leg strengthening movements to help “Little Earl” build up his coordination. It was one way the elder Earl bonded with his son from a young age. Of course neither parent had much trouble bonding with Little Earl. After all, the Thomas family was originally told that Debbie Thomas, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer two years before his birth, wouldn’t be able to have children. To this day, Debbie still calls Earl her “miracle child.”

This past week, Debbie visited the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, where she met with Dr. Denise Galloway, whose work helped pinpoint human papillomaviruses as the cause of nearly all cervical cancers. Mrs. Thomas was an exceptional case, beating cancer in just two years time, but not every woman is able to defy the odds like Debbie, who has since raised two boys. However, Galloway’s work has and will continue to help women avoid the situation that faced Earl’s mother entirely.

Two loving parents, blessed with an opportunity after their miracle, The Thomases have raised a pair of incredible young men. While speaking with Q13 FOX Earl II recalled one special weekend where ET III and his younger brother Seth, who played collegiate football at McNeese State, each tallied two interceptions on the same day, and then earned defensive player of the week honors in their respective conference.

Earl II also talked about grooming Earl to be the man he is off the field, while praising the support of Seattle’s 12s. He compared the fan support in the Emerald City favorably to that of the notoriously football-crazed state of Texas, and spoke of how ET III loves to give back to his adopted city, which shows him endless love in return.

“You train a child while he’s young, so when he does get to a certain age, he’ll act like he’s been there before,” Thomas said. “Earl has always been pretty conscientious about others—this is not about him anyway. We always make sure that he’s giving the people what they want. So many athletes act like their time is such a big thing. You want to give back, you want people to know you care. And he loves to give back.”

Of course, many of those Seahawks fans are curious about the status of their star safety, who began training camp on the physically unable to perform list. After spending the start of camp in coach mode, ET III has since been cleared for action. However, his father said he’d never felt much worry about his son’s progress, noting that there isn’t much that will keep ET III off the field.

“Earl is coming along well,” his father reported. “He’s looking strong, he’s been having great rehab workouts. One thing about Earl, he works hard at whatever he does.”

In addition to his comments on Earl, ET II also appeared on Q13 FOX to help promote the upcoming Fan Fest and 2015 Season Kick-off Celebration. Earl and Debbie also appeared on K5 NBC’s New Day to talk about the Aug. 14-16 event, which will feature numerous activities and appearances by Seahawks legends. For more information and for tickets, head to the Celebrity Events Consulting website.