Former Arkansas linebacker, Dre Greenlaw had his NFL dreams realized when the San Francisco 49ers selected him in the fifth round, but four years ago Greenlaw was a freshman who helped save someone else’s life.

Greenlaw is being recognized for his actions by the father of the daughter he helped save.

While at Arkansas, Greenlaw was attending a party when Gerry Dales’ daughter became incapacitated. When a man tried taking her away, Greenlaw stepped in with a friend to stop him.

Since then, Dales wanted to thank Greenlaw for his work of action, but refused to do so publicly due to his age at the time.

Via NBC Sports,

Dales said, “He was an underage athlete, attending a party where there was alcohol, even though he was not drinking. He was a college football player in the SEC.”

So, when Greenlaw was drafted by the 49ers on Saturday, Dales took time to finally thank him in public for what he did on Twitter. 

Dales recalled the story in full, adding, “In some ways, he was risking everything,”

He finished his post by calling on 49ers fans to root for Greenlaw.

Dales said, “I didn’t ever tell this story, because maybe someone would say ‘oh, he shouldn’t have been at that party.’ Maybe not. But he had my daughter’s back, and for that I will always owe him. So, do me a favor. Root for Dre. He’s a good kid with a good heart.”

Greenlaw retweeted two of Dales posts. Dales, who is a Giants fan, said that he’ll cheer for him no matter what.

“But I’d root for him wherever he landed,” Dales said. “Now I’ll cheer for the 49ers.”

Nice little story.  

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