National Football League

Rams DC Raheem Morris helps save 3-year-old's life after drowning incident

Published Jun. 1, 2023 12:54 p.m. ET

Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris is being credited for saving a young boy's life over Memorial Day weekend.

While he and his family were staying at a hotel in Las Vegas, Morris noticed a situation where he saw a 3-year-old drowning at the hotel's pool. When the young boy was taken out of the pool, he didn't have a pulse, Morris' wife, Nicole, shared on Instagram Wednesday as she revealed details of the story.

"I saw people calling 911, so my first question was, where is the AED (automatic external defibrillator)?" Morris told ESPN. "When I got back, we had a doctor on site that was able to start the compressions. I was able to hand the AED to him, get it open for him, put the pads on the child, and he ended up being OK."

Morris gave credit to the recent CPR and AED training held by the Rams, which came in the aftermath of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest during an NFL game in January.

"I’m just thankful I knew what to do," Raheem Morris added to ESPN. "You just never know when you’re going to need that stuff."

The 3-year-old boy ended up being discharged from the hospital less than a day after the incident happened, Morris' wife added in her Instagram post.

Morris also mentioned the recent tragic incident involving Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett, who lost his 2-year-old daughter after she drowned in the family's pool in April, for helping him understand the situation he faced with the young boy.

In the months following Hamlin's incident, the NFL and the Bills' safety have worked to push awareness on CPR training and heart health and safety. The league partnered with the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross to commit to CPR education and to assist coaches of youth sports leagues in having the proper equipment required for certain heart issues.

As for Hamlin, he went to Capitol Hill to push for more access to AEDs in March and helped host a CPR training event with the Carolina Panthers in April. Many other teams, like the Rams, have hosted their own CPR training events and the NFL offered free CPR training in the week leading up to the Super Bowl in February.

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