Chiefs lineman Trey Smith shares WWE title belt with frightened boy after parade shooting
Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Trey Smith shared the WWE title belt to help calm a young boy in the aftermath of the mass shooting at the team’s Super Bowl celebration
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Trey Smith shared the WWE title belt to help calm a young boy in the aftermath of the mass shooting at the team's Super Bowl celebration.
Smith, who sported the belt during the celebration, noticed the frightened boy, who was with his father.
“I was thinking, what can I do to help him out?” Smith said in an interview Thursday on Good Morning America. “I just handed him the belt: 'Hey buddy, you're the champion. No one's going to hurt you, man. We've got your back.'”
Smith said he talked about wrestling to take the boy's mind off the frightening scene after they were loaded onto a bus. Eight children were among the 21 people wounded and a mother of two was killed in the shooting.
Smith said he and long snapper James Winchester were among those sheltering in a closet and that Winchester “was very instrumental in keeping people calm.”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid also took time to comfort others at the scene, including Shawnee Mission East 10th-grader Gabe Wallace.
“Andy Reid was trying to comfort me, which was nice,” Wallace told The Kansas City Star. “He was kind of hugging me, just like, ‘Are you OK, man? Are you OK? Just please breathe.’ He was being real nice and everything.'
“He left to check on other people, I’m pretty sure.”
Three people were detained and firearms were recovered during the mayhem at Union Station.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl