Former CFB player, high school hero Jason Seaman speaks publicly for first time after being shot
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Jason Seaman, the former college football player turned teacher that took three bullets for his students during a recent school shooting in Noblesville, Indiana on Friday met with the media and spoke publicly for the first time on Monday.
Thankfully, Seaman was not critically injured in the incident but he was forced to have surgery following the shooting. Before becoming a high school teacher and coach, Seaman played for the Southern Illinois football team.
“I want to make it clear that my actions on that day, in my mind, were the only acceptable actions I could have done given the circumstances,” Seaman said in a video conference shared by CBS News. “I deeply care for my students and their well-being. That is why I did what I did that day.”
It wasn’t long before Seaman deflected attention away from himself and toward the Noblesville student that was also shot in the incident, Ella Whistler.
“I can’t say enough how proud of Ella I am and how we all should be,” Seaman continued. “Her courage and strength at such a young age is nothing short of remarkable, and we should all continue to keep her in our minds as she continues to recover.”
Seaman went on to thank everyone for their support, the medical personnel that worked on him following the shooting, the security staff at Noblesville as well as the fundraising campaign started by people Seaman acknowledged he didn’t even know. Thus far, that GoFundMe page has raised over $70,000.
“I can’t really fathom how someone I have not personally met would do such an act of kindness and how the Noblesville community has been so generous in their response to it,” Seaman said when discussing those outreach efforts.
Seaman did not take questions during the press conference.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
