Aaron Glenn still is haunted by what he saw at the Pontiac Silverdome that day.
Glenn was a fourth-year defensive back playing for the New York Jets in 1997 when Detroit Lions linebacker Reggie Brown, Glenn’s former college teammate at Texas A&M, suffered a career-ending spinal injury.
Brown was injured when a Jets lineman fell backwards into his neck as he made a tackle on what appeared to be a routine play. The injury caused Brown’s esophagus to stop working, and as Brown went into respiratory arrest, Glenn remembers him turning “purple and blue” and getting CPR on the field.
“That play will never go away,” Glenn said Thursday. “The fact that it was a close friend of mine, that fact that it’s a brotherhood, so regardless of who it was, and the fact that every time I saw him after that, that conversation came up. And any time you just think about your career, like things like that will always flash, so that will never leave me at all.”
Glenn was reminded of his experience from 25 years ago when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday.
LIFESAVERS:Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest brought back scary memories for ex-Detroit Lions doctors
Hamlin was injured making what appeared to be a routine tackle in the first quarter. He stood up after the play, adjusted his facemask then collapsed immediately to the ground where medics performed CPR to restore his heartbeat on the field.
Hamlin remained in critical condition in a Cincinnati hospital Thursday morning.
“I know those players from Buffalo and Cincinnati, that will never leave them, too, cause that’s a critical, critical moment in their career that they (witnessed),” Glenn said.
Lions players and others around the NFL talked openly Wednesday about returning to work while still processing Hamlin’s injury.
