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A semi-pro basketball player saves the life of a referee who collapses during a game. At a recent semi-pro basketball game in Upstate New York, 61-year-old referee John Sculli collapsed on the court in the middle of the game.
As officials and spectators wonder what to do, a player comes off the bench and runs straight toward Sculli. The player, 25-year-old Myles Copeland, checks the ref’s vitals and immediately starts chest compressions. “I run toward the emergencies, I don’t run away from them,” says Copeland, whose day-job is a firefighter with the Toledo, Ohio, fire department.
After 30 minutes of CPR, Copeland says that Sculli finally came to. He joked about going back in to finish reffing the game before he was taken to the hospital where he underwent triple bypass surgery. Before going under the knife, Sculli had a message for Copeland. “Myles, my heart literally goes out to you for saving my life,” he said. “You are my hero.”