As a parent, one of the greatest fears imaginable is having your own flesh and blood harmed. So when newly-signed Philadelphia 76ers center Andre Drummond saw that his two-year-old son, Deon, was about to drown after accidentally falling in the pool, he did what any dad would do: He came to the rescue.
On Thursday, the two-time NBA All-Star posted footage from a home Ring camera to his Twitter account that chronicled the harrowing ordeal. In the clip, Deon is seen sitting at the edge of the pool before accidentally falling in. That’s when Drummond leaps into action, charging at the pool at a breakneck pace before jumping into the water to rescue his son—fully clothed and all.
Drummond then carries his son to another person, who helps lift Deon out of the water to safety before Drummond drags his own 6-foot, 10-inch, 280-pound frame out of the pool.
“NOT ALL HEROS [sic] WEAR CAPES,” Drummond captioned the video that demonstrated “a parent’s worst nightmare.”
While it was clearly a scary situation to be a part of, the UConn alum laughed off jokes as fans offered their own observations about his superhuman paternal instincts.
Sports Illustrated reports that Deon’s mother, Abigail Russo, also took to social media to chime in on what transpired:
Deon’s mother, Abigail Russo, shared the footage on her Instagram story, commenting, “them father instincts kicked in quick.” She echoed Drummond on the next slide, saying everyone was O.K.
“Deon was just being a lil dare devil,” Abigail wrote. “Shit happens [shrugging emoji] dad was on full alert.”
Thankfully, Deon is safe and sound, but let this cautionary tale serve as a reminder that it’s not only important that parents teach their children how to swim, but how important it is to keep an eye on our children at all times when they’re around the pool.
I see an Olympic gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly in Deon’s future.