A week ago, reserve defensive lineman BJ Thompson of the Kansas City Chiefs was living the high life as the Super Bowl champs visited the White House.
On Thursday, he was fortunate to be alive.
Thompson “had a seizure in a special teams meeting and went into cardiac arrest,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero posted on social media platform X.
“The #Chiefs canceled all team activities today after a backup defensive lineman had a seizure in a special teams meeting and went into cardiac arrest, per sources,” he posted.
“The team’s medical staff worked quickly, an ambulance was called and the player is currently in stable condition,” the post said.
#Chiefs DL BJ Thompson is in stable condition after suffering a seizure and going into cardiac arrest during a meeting this morning, per source.
A fifth-round pick in 2023 out of Stephen F. Austin, Thompson appeared in one game as a rookie for the Super Bowl champs. https://t.co/aGTzMF7F7H
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) June 6, 2024
"DL BJ Thompson is in stable condition after suffering a seizure and going into cardiac arrest during a meeting this morning, per source,” he wrote in a follow-up post.
“A fifth-round pick in 2023 out of Stephen F. Austin, Thompson appeared in one game as a rookie for the Super Bowl champs,” he wrote.
Thompson, 25, had two tackles in Kansas City’s Week 18 victory over the San Diego Chargers, according to the New York Post.
Scary situation out of #Chiefs camp as 2nd-year DE BJ Thompson is in stable condition after having a seizure and going into cardiac arrest in a team meeting.
The England, Arkansas native’s underdog story out of Stephen F. Austin was just getting started. Hoping for the best 🙏 pic.twitter.com/TOoDgXdVOc
— Nick Walters (@nickwalt) June 6, 2024
After the Thursday incident, the team sent the players home instead of having practice as scheduled, according to ESPN.
A media availability featuring head coach Andy Reid and several players was rescheduled for Friday, according to NFL.com.
Please keep Chiefs player BJ Thompson and his family in your prayers as he recovers after a suffering a seizure and cardiac arrest during a team meeting at the Chiefs OTA today.
He is presently in the hospital in stable condition, but it is unclear what this was related to, so… pic.twitter.com/m2af7gveWq
— Da🦦Otterside (@DaOtterside) June 6, 2024
Thompson had clearly enjoyed his trip to the White House with the team last week, posting an image of himself sprawled on a White House couch.
“Posted at the White House got me feeling like the president,” he posted on Instagram last week.
After being drafted by the Chiefs, the Arkansas native said, “I just want to put on for my town and show them that anything is possible, no matter where you come from. Hopefully I am accomplishing that,” according to the U.K.'s Daily Mail.
'Me and my friends, we all had dreams and goals of NFL, NBA but along the lines, dreams kind of die off and people get other plans,” he said.
