Bridgeport Man Honored for Jumping In With CPR to Save a Fellow Player's Life on the Basketball Court

Sometimes the most important play of the night has nothing to do with the scoreboard. Up in Bridgeport, a man who once made his name making tackles on the football field is being honored for something a whole lot bigger: helping save a fellow player's life on a basketball court.

Mackenzie Holmes, a former Bridgeport High School football standout, received a Good Samaritan Award on Monday, Oct. 26, from The Bridge Sports Complex and the Bridgeport City Council. Mayor Robert Matheny presented him with the plaque.

The award recognizes what Holmes did during a basketball game at The Bridge a few weeks earlier. Daniel Rowan suffered a heart attack and went down on the court. Holmes saw him on the floor needing help, stepped in right away and started CPR, working alongside the complex's staff until help arrived.

The Bridge General Manager Droo Callahan didn't mince words about the difference Holmes made. "Mackenzie jumped into action and was unbelievable in helping our staff," Callahan said. "He was the primary factor in saving Dan's life."

Anyone who has taken a CPR class knows it isn't gentle work, and Rowan came out of it with four broken ribs and a lacerated spleen. But he survived, and he was there in person at Monday's council meeting with his wife to see Holmes recognized.

Holmes said that about three weeks after that night, he got to shake the hand of the man he helped save. He called it the most rewarding thing he could ever ask for, knowing Rowan is back home with his wife and still has his parents and his brother around him.

He also pointed the credit somewhere else. "I did make a difference in keeping this brother in Christ here," Holmes said. "But let this just be a reminder that the good Lord calls us to take care of our neighbors."

The plaque recognized Holmes "in honor of courage, compassion and extraordinary service," describing how, in a moment when every second mattered, he stepped forward and showed the profound difference one person can make.

Callahan said that is exactly what sports are supposed to teach. "Somebody that is able to step out of playing basketball and jump into that situation and save a life is way more important than anything else we do," he said.

It is a good reminder for all of us, too. Cardiac emergencies can happen anywhere, including the gym, the ballfield or the church fellowship hall, and the first few minutes matter most. If you have been meaning to take a CPR class, this might be your sign. Local fire departments, hospitals and the American Red Cross regularly offer training around the state.

From all of us here at West Virginia Pulse, thank you, Mackenzie. That is what neighbors do in West Virginia: when somebody goes down, we don't stand around and watch. We jump in.