Chiefs player BJ Thompson ‘awake and alert’ after seizure and cardiac arrest

Kansas City Chiefs defensive end BJ Thompson was awake and “absolutely on track” Friday afternoon after the player suffered an epileptic seizure and cardiac arrest on Thursday, a team official said.

The prognosis is good for Thompson, 25, who suffered the seizure during a team meeting at the Chiefs’ facility. He was taken to the hospital and sedated and placed on a ventilator overnight, said Rick Burkholder, the Chiefs’ vice president of sports medicine and performance.

On Friday, Burkholder told reporters that kicker Harrison Butker ran to the training room to alert staff when Thompson’s medical ordeal began.

“As a team, we tried to stabilize BJ and put him on the ground while he was still having a seizure. Then he went into cardiac arrest. Our team from that group performed CPR on him,” Burkholder said.