Chicago Bears linebacker Jerrell Freeman saved a man's life at an airport in Austin, Texas on Sunday, just as he was preparing to take a flight and head to Bears' training camp.
While eating a chopped brisket sandwich, the 6'0 234 lbs linebacker noticed a man frantically get out of his seat at the Salt Lick Taco Bar "like he had forgotten something." As it turns out, the man was actually choking and Freeman came to the rescue after one woman unsuccessfully attempted the Heimlich maneuver.
Freeman told the Chicago Tribune how it all went down.
"I grabbed him and tried to squeeze the life out of him," Freeman told the Chicago Tribune. "You've got to push in and up. So I did that and he started throwing up what he was choking on. I asked him if he was all right, and he shook his head like 'No!'
"I grabbed him again and hit him again with it," Freeman added. "And when I put him down the second time, his eyes got big. He was like, 'Oh my god! I think you just saved my life, man!' It was crazy."
Although Freeman sprung to action and knew exactly what to do, he says he had never done the Heimlich before.
"I've never done the Heimlich before," Freeman said. "I don't think I've had any training or anything. My mom's a nurse, and she had talked about it. So I just did what I heard you should do. I guess it worked."
Afterward, the man he saved, Marcus Ryan, went back to finish eating his meal.
"I guess that was some good brisket. He wasn't about to let that go to waste," Freeman told the Tribune. "You can't get between a man and his brisket. I get it."
The two later posed for a photo, which Freeman then shared on Twitter.
