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Jamal CollierESPN
After finishing a 24-hour shift as a firefighter in Toledo, Ohio, last weekend, Myles Copeland headed to New York to start her other job, a player for Toledo Glass City of The Basketball League, for the playoff against the Jamestown Jackals.
But his two worlds collided near the end of the first half of Saturday’s game when the referee, John Sculli, passed out on the field and was unresponsive.
It happened across from Toledo’s bench, and immediately, Copeland got into action. He checked Sculli’s vitals, but didn’t feel his pulse or see him breathe, so Copeland began performing CPR until paramedics arrived.
“It’s an instinct,” Copeland said in a phone interview with ESPN on Wednesday. “But with being a firefighter, when you quit, you really don’t leave the job. You still have to keep an eye on the community and what’s going on around you.”
Copeland’s quick response saved Sculli’s life. He is scheduled to have heart surgery this week to fix a blockage that left him unconscious and is expected to return next season.
After Copeland’s heroic bout, Toledo rallied to win Saturday’s knockout and, with another win on Sunday, it advanced to the conference semifinals, where it will face Kokomo. Bobcats on Thursday in Indiana. The Basketball League plans to honor Copeland before that game.
“A guy like this deserves to be celebrated,” tournament president David Magley said in a phone interview. “Not just because he saved his life but the humility with which he carried himself back then.
“He’s the kind of guy that’s considered our hero because he stepped up when needed and he’s not going to take any credit. It’s just divine timing.”
Copeland, 25, plays Division III college basketball at the University of Trine in Indiana, and this is his first season playing with The Basketball League. He’s been a Toledo firefighter for over a year.
His shifts at the fire department are 24 hours long followed by 48 hours off, so during the season he only comes to practice or games that fall on the days he’s off. Had a shift that ended Saturday morning to make it in time for this playoff game, which ended up being a fortuitous timing.
“Since then, people have been looking at me like that. They have a different feeling about me, like you’re a hero,” Copeland said. “People have told me a lot, but I still have a hard time thinking of it because I feel like I’ve just done something else, another thing that I have to do. I don’t feel like I’ve gone out. my way to do anything special that’s just what i was put here to do god was able to work through me i feel like other people see me as a hero but I don’t see myself as different.”
