Chiefs Deliver Update on BJ Thompson Emergency, Praise Medical Teams

Rick Burkholder, Kansas City Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and performance, addressed the medical emergency defensive end BJ Thompson suffered at the team's facilities on Thursday and praised the fast-acting medical team.

Jan 7, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Kansas City Chiefs defensive end BJ Thompson (53) looks on during the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas City Chiefs defensive end BJ Thompson had a seizure during a special teams meeting and went into cardiac arrest at the team's facilities on Thursday morning, leading to the Chiefs canceling Thursday's Organized Team Activity practice and postponing their regularly scheduled press conference until Friday.

Shortly before the Chiefs spoke to the media Friday afternoon, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reported that Thompson was "awake and responsive, according to his agent," and that Thompson's "prognosis is good."

Later in the day, Rick Burkholder, the Chiefs' vice president of sports medicine and performance, spoke to the media at the beginning of Friday's press availability to discuss Thursday's emergency and to praise Kansas City's medical staff.

"He had a seizure during the meeting and then eventually went into cardiac arrest," Burkholder began. "Just as a side note here, the NFL mandates that we do these emergency action plans for every team in the league — home, away, in your practice facilities — and then we're mandated to practice multiple times a year. Ironically, we practiced on Monday."

Burkholder then went on to name many of the assistant athletic trainers and other medical professionals who intervened.

"With BJ, when he had the seizure, [kicker Harrison] Butker immediately ran toward the training room and grabbed Julie Frymeyer and David Glover, and then grabbed me, we went into the room and eventually Tiffany Morton and Evan Craft came in as well as, with this facility, we have a doctor's office down the hall, and Dr. J.P. Darche from [The University of Kansas Health System] was there, he came up and assisted and, as a team, we tried to stabilize BJ and put him on the floor while he was still seizing and then he went into cardiac arrest," Burkholder said. "Our team of that group of people provided CPR for him, he had one AED shock and came back, so he was only in cardiac arrest for probably less than a minute, minute-and-a-half.

"Our players, our security staff, everybody involved, coaching staff, they were phenomenal in handling the crisis," Burkholder continued. "We then turned him over to KC Fire Department and the paramedics. Those paramedics do those practice sessions with us, so there was some familiarity there with those guys, and then he was taken to KU Hospital where he was heavily sedated yesterday through the night, and then they brought him out of the sedation this morning, he was on a ventilator overnight, just so he could breathe because he was so heavily sedated. That's all out, he's alert, he's awake, he's coming through quite well. We don't have a diagnosis, and in medicine, sometimes you don't have that. Like I said, he's awake and alert and he's headed in the absolute right direction, so all things good in a little bit of a hairy situation."

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo discussed Thursday's scary scene while appearing at a Kansas City charity softball game on Thursday night, per PJ Green of FOX4 Kansas City:

"Let me say this before I say anything, I’m thinking about BJ right now,” Spagnuolo said. “It was scary. I think the guys were a little bit scared, I know I was. But a lot of praying and [head athletic trainer] Rick [Burkholder] and his staff did a terrific job.”
Spagnuolo said he wasn’t in the room when it happened because it happened during a special teams meeting.
"But everybody you know, to a man to a person to a woman, because we have some female trainers, they were terrific, they did a great job. So we’ll keep our fingers crossed. I’ll let Andy handle the rest of that."

The Chiefs selected Thompson in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft (No. 166 overall) out of Stephen F. Austin State University. Thompson appeared in one game in his rookie season.

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