Jeremy Shockey and Ben Hartsock both are veteran tight ends in their first season with the Carolina Panthers. Now they have something else to bond over.
Hartsock credited his teammate with helping to save his life Monday after he choked on a piece of meat and couldn't breathe in the team's lunch room.
According to NationalFootballPost.com, Hartsock's agent, Mike McCartney, said a piece of pork tenderloin got caught in Hartsock's throat.
Hartsock tried drinking water to clear his throat, but that didn't work.
"He started to go to the bathroom, and I don't know if he collapsed, but he couldn't breathe," McCartney said. "Some new guy came and tried to give him the Heimlich. It didn't work. Then, Shockey hit him in the back pretty hard and out came the meat. The Panthers told me it was really scary.
"He said to me a little while ago, 'I really hope this doesn't get out, but if it does, it's going to be a funny story.'Â "
