KANSAS CITY, Mo. — BJ Thompson, the defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs, woke up Friday morning inside the University of Kansas’ medical center in stable condition, as he was responsive almost 24 hours after he had a seizure in a special-teams meeting and went into cardiac arrest.
Rick Burkholder, the Chiefs’ vice president of sports medicine and performance, explained Friday that it was kicker Harrison Butker who first noticed that Thompson was having a seizure.
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Burkholder said Butker immediately left the meeting room and sprinted toward the team’s training room to alert assistant trainers Julie Frymyer and David Glover. Within minutes, Burkholder and his staff — of Frymyer, Glover, Tiffany Morton and Evan Craft — and Dr. Jean-Philippe E Darche, a former center who played nine seasons in the NFL, worked together to help resuscitate Thompson, who fell to the floor once he went into cardiac arrest.
“Our (medical) team of that group of people provided CPR for him and he had one AED shock and came back,” Burkholder said of Thompson after the Chiefs’ practice Friday. “He was only in cardiac arrest for probably less than a minute.”
GO DEEPERChiefs cancel OTA practice after medical emergencyThompson was taken by ambulance to the medical center and was placed under heavy sedation.
“He was on a ventilator overnight, just so that he could breathe since he was so heavily sedated,” Burkholder said of Thompson. “He’s alert. He’s awake. He’s coming through quite well. We don’t have a diagnosis. In medicine, sometimes you don’t have that. He’s heading in the absolute right direction.”
According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood. When this occurs, blood doesn’t flow to the brain or other important organs.
During cardiac arrest, the heart gets out of rhythm and suddenly stops beating. The person no longer has a pulse, stops breathing and becomes unconscious. Unlike a heart attack, cardiac arrest is caused by an electrical disturbance that disrupts how the heart pumps blood throughout the body, ultimately stopping blood flow. There is not a blockage to the heart.
Following the medical emergency, the Chiefs postponed their voluntary organized team activities practice until Friday afternoon.
“Thank goodness, though, that if it had to happen, there’s no better place than right here, where you have the support unit that knows what to do,” coach Andy Reid said. “Afterwards, we had a team meeting around 9:15 a.m. I think it was good to get (the players) out of here yesterday. We’ve got support people here who can help them if they need it for what they saw. It’s not a real pleasant thing to see and watch. We’ve kept them abreast all the way through, even right through the end of practice.”
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Reid also acknowledged that most of his players were in the room when Thompson had his seizure.
“I’m just glad to see that he’s doing (well),” fellow defensive end George Karlaftis said of Thompson. “You never want that for anyone. It’s hard, but we’re blessed to have such great teammates and athletic trainers that helped him and we’re able and ready for that situation. I’m hoping and praying for a speedy recovery for BJ.”
Burkholder explained that the NFL requires every team to practice its emergency action plan, whether the team is home or away before a game and during the workweek inside the training facility.
“We’re mandated to practice multiple times a year,” Burkholder said. “Ironically, we practiced on Monday with a group called Walters Incorporated, who comes in and educates us and goes through scenarios like we went through yesterday.”
Thompson, a fifth-round pick in 2023, is one of the Chiefs’ developmental defensive ends, a former basketball player who spent almost all of his rookie season similar to a redshirt freshman in college. He appeared in one game, the Chiefs’ regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers, where he recorded two tackles in 28 defensive snaps.
At age 27, Thompson is entering the 2024 season hoping to earn a role as a rotational edge rusher.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with BJ Thompson,” the Chiefs released in a statement Friday on their X account. “Chiefs Kingdom, help us wish him a speedy recovery!”
Our thoughts and prayers are with BJ Thompson. Chiefs Kingdom, help us wish him a speedy recovery! pic.twitter.com/GkXwG2zfZm
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) June 7, 2024
Prior to Friday’s practice, the Chiefs were told that Thompson had regained consciousness.
“It’s just phenomenal news that we got that he’s doing better and that he’s stable,” safety Justin Reid said. He later added on Butker’s heroic act: “Harrison is that guy and he loves all of us. We’re a family. This is so much deeper than just football. In a moment like that, you just have to call yourself into action.
“Harrison did that and the trainers moved so quickly to be able to rescue BJ.”
(Photo: Ric Tapia / Getty Images)
Nate Taylor has been a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Kansas City Chiefs since 2018. Before that, he covered the Indiana Pacers at The Indianapolis Star for two years. He has also been a sports features writer for The New York Times and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. A Kansas City native, he graduated from the University of Central Missouri. Follow Nate on Twitter @ByNateTaylor
