Former NFL WR Braylon Edwards Rescues 80-Year-Old Man Who Was Assaulted at YMCA

Doric SamMarch 3, 2024

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Former NFL wide receiver Braylon Edwards rescued an 80-year-old man from being assaulted inside a locker room at a YMCA in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Per Shawn Ley and Brandon Carr of WDIV 4 in Detroit, the incident occurred this past Friday when Edwards was at the Farmington Family YMCA and found the man being assaulted by a 25-year-old man. Edwards said the 25-year-old tried to fight him as well as he tried to stop the fracas.

“I basically walk into the locker room after work, and I hear some noise about four rows behind me, just over arguing about music, someone playing some music too loud,” Edwards said. “So, I’m not paying attention—it’s none of my business. The noise escalates, and then you can start to hear some pushing and shoving—I mean, you know what fighting sounds like. You start to hear some tussling, you start to hear some fists. But then once I heard a thud … that’s what got me up, that’s what got me to turn around.”

At that point, Edwards stepped in to stop things from escalating further than they already did.

“I didn’t know it was that serious. I mean, I knew he probably had a serious concussion or things of that nature, but it wasn’t until I talked to Detective Jacobs down in Farmington that he told me that if I didn’t step in… But at the end of the day, that’s what you do,” Edwards said.

Officials said the 25-year-old initially fled on foot but was arrested and is currently in custody.

Edwards played eight seasons in the NFL for four teams from 2005 to 2012, earning a Pro Bowl selection and second-team All-Pro honors in 2007. The Detroit native starred at Michigan from 2001 to 2004 and was the No. 3 pick in the 2005 NFL draft.