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Chiefs DL Praised for Heroically Catching Young Fan Who Fell Out of Stands
Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Tershawn Wharton recorded two tackles in his team's narrow victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. But his most important play came as he was walking off the field.
As the players headed to the locker room, a young Chiefs fan leaned over the railing of the stands to greet them. He then suddenly went head over heels in a video captured by another bystander. Wharton apparently was standing right underneath him and managed to catch the child before he was seriously hurt. Wharton then lifted him back up to climb into the stands and return to his family.
A defensive lineman made the most important catch of the week pic.twitter.com/LqVDTRhWj8
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) November 26, 2024
Wharton's heroic act was widely praised by fans.
Damn lil dude lol. Good for the Turk being there.
— RJones (@raging6907) November 26, 2024
Turk is a good man.
— Justin Moody (@dirt4huntmore) November 26, 2024
Not all Heroes wear capes! Some wear Chiefs gear! Thank you for protecting that kid from a bad fall Tershawn! #ChiefsKingdom https://t.co/6sW91kuHfs
— KC_Crane (@crane_chiefs25) November 26, 2024
Turk is the man dude , career year on and off the field https://t.co/mnDO82kIEB
— ManMythLegend (@Win_Where) November 25, 2024
Thank God 98 was paying attention at the time https://t.co/hP4JZ7umOD
— Aaron Bell (@abellboys) November 25, 2024
@TershawnWharton out here saving lives!#Chiefs https://t.co/lN5V687vmw
— Andrew Lee (@Adleenp87) November 26, 2024
Turk a real life super hero https://t.co/BEWkV9NigA
— Keaton (@kjonesy1587) November 25, 2024
Wharton signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent out of Missouri S&T in 2020. In 11 games this season he has 11 tackles and 2.5 sacks; the latter mark is already a career-high for the fourth-year lineman with six games to go.
This was a frightening situation that could have turned out far worse if not for the quick reaction and instincts of Wharton.
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Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.