Derrion Thomas, who is naturally quiet, who uses brevity as a shield and who is a master of the polite brush-off toward outsiders who have reached his limit, doesn’t care much for this sort of thing. Last Friday, when his father’s former Chiefs teammate Neil Smith asked him — actually, told him — to say a few words to hundreds of fans celebrating at the Derrick Thomas Festival at the City Market, Derrion obliged. Because really, there’s no telling Neil Smith — a very large man — no. Instead, Derrion stepped up to the microphone.

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