Former CFL player’s quick thinking saves choking man’s life

Former CFL player Jerrell Freeman has always been on the ball on the football field, but his quick thinking Sunday saved a man’s life.

Freeman, a linebacker with the NFL’s Chicago Bears, was at an airport in Austin, Texas, en route to training camp. He’d stopped to have a sandwich when he noticed another man stand up and have a concerned look on his face.

A woman noticed the man was choking and attempted the Heimlich manoeuvre but couldn’t deliver enough force. So the six-foot, 236-pound Freeman stepped in, needing to perform the move twice in order resolve the situation.

Afterwards, the two men posed for a photo together and Freeman later tweeted about the life-saving incident.

“CRAZY!! Just saved my guy Marcus Ryan’s life by using the Heimlich manoeuvre in the middle of the Austin airport! WOW Mom would be proud haha,” Freeman tweeted.

Freeman’s mother is a nurse and the two had spoken about what to do in such an emergency. Freeman said it marked the first time he’d ever been required to perform the lifesaving move. And, he added, the man later returned to finishing the rest of his sandwich.

Freeman is entering his second season with Chicago, registering 110 tackles in 12 games in 2016 after signing a three-year, US$12-million deal. He played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 2009-11 before joining the Indianapolis Colts. He spent two seasons with Indianapolis before heading to Chicago.

LULAY ROLLS ALONG: Another game, another win for Travis Lulay.

The veteran quarterback threw for 404 yards and two TDs in rallying B.C. to a 45-42 home win over Winnipeg on Friday night. The Lions outscored the Blue Bombers 18-0 in the fourth quarter to improve to 4-1 and stand tied for first with Edmonton (4-0) in the West Division standings.

Lulay replaced injured starter Jonathon Jennings and threw for a record 436 yards and three TDs in leading B.C. past the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 41-26 on July 15. Lulay’s performance was a CFL record for a player coming off the bench and also earned the Lions a sweep of three straight road games versus East Division teams.

Jennings suffered an upperbody injury versus Hamilton, pressing Lulay into service. The Lions are hopeful Jennings can resume throwing this week as they prepare to face Edmonton on Friday night.

If Jennings is healthy enough to go, then head coach/GM Wally Buono has a very nice problem to address regarding who’ll start against the Eskimos.