In all of the free agency frenzy this summer, one smaller move that may have gone unnoticed to many was the Utah Jazz signing veteran forward Thabo Sefolosha to a two-year, $10.5M deal.
His signing has already paid off for one Utah woman, whose life was saved by Sefolosha himself.
Recently, Sefolosha and his family were rafting on the Provo River in Utah when they came upon a woman struggling to stay afloat. She had capsized and lost her raft and oars to the fast-flowing river. While the woman's friend struggled to keep her above the water, Sefolosha came along and saved the day. Via The Salt Lake Tribune:
With about 20 minutes left on the trip, Clark hit a boulder in the stream and flipped over. Her tube and oars quickly floated downstream. Her life vest rode up past her head, and she was struggling for air.
"I always wondered how people drowned in small water before this happened," she said. "The water was so swift, I couldn't catch my breath. It was really terrifying."
One of her friends, Heidi Bishop, grabbed her shirt and tried to take her along with her, but she was worried that Clark might capsize her as well. As she thrashed along in the water, Clark was hitting rocks in the stream, gathering cuts and bruises.
They asked for help from at least one other person as they struggled: He advised them to keep along as they were and then went on his way.
It was at this moment of peril that the Sefoloshas came up the river. Thabo asked if he could help, then helped lift her into his raft.
Sefolosha tried to be modest and play it off as not a big deal. "I didn't save nobody," he said. The struggling woman's friend disagreed. "He really did save her life," she told the Tribune.
Regardless of whether he wants to admit it or not, this was a heroic act by Sefolosha, and one he should be celebrated for. Especially considering others had already passed by and failed to help.
