Exclusive: Barry Sanders on His Heart Attack and the Success of the Lions

Newsweek

16 hours ago

There have been many legendary players who have suited up for the Detroit Lions, but there might not be one more beloved and recognizable than Barry Sanders. Sanders is arguably the greatest running back the league has ever seen.
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Sanders played for 10 seasons in the NFL, racking up 10 Pro Bowl nods, was the rushing yards leader in four seasons, is a Hall of Famer, and so much more.
Sanders has been a staunch supporter of the Lions, well after his retirement, often showing up at games and alumni events. However, he experienced a harrowing situation in 2024 when he suffered a heart attack.
Now, Sanders stars in a new documentary about his heart attack, which brings him together with four individuals who also experienced their own cardiovascular events.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 14: Former NFL player Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions reacts during the first half between the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs at Ford...
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 14: Former NFL player Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions reacts during the first half between the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs at Ford Field on January 14, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. Barry Sanders took to social media to reveal that he suffered a heart-related health scare over the weekend. MoreMore news: Steelers HC Mike Tomlin Offers Major Update on TJ Watt Minicamp Holdout
What is the documentary you are in, and how does it detail your heart attack?
"It's called "The Making of a Heart Attack." It'll be shown starting June 14, a couple of days on A+E, and it follows my journey of having a heart attack, along with several other individuals. You know, we all have moving stories. I think people will really learn a lot
about, you know, some of the risk factors and how to bounce back and life after an incident like that, or hopefully even just trying to prevent it ... you can go to attackheartdisease.com, to learn more about it."
Can you kind of, like, walk me through that day a little bit more and what was the feeling for you when the doctors had finally told you what was going on?
"Well, I woke up, and I just felt sort of a burning, kind of like a heartburn type sensation right in the middle of my chest, and really just thought I was going to be able to kind of shake it off, you know. And so it just kind of lingered. I was just puzzled. Like, man, what did I eat last night? Did I pull a muscle? And so it just lingered, or lingered until, you know, just later on in that day, I just said, 'let me drive myself to the emergency room' and, and that's what I did. I drove and went to the emergency room. And I'm sitting there and they run all these tests.
"They saw that certain enzymes were enzyme count was high. They were kind of puzzled, because I wasn't in distress, but other than this pain in the middle of my chest or heartburn, or whatever is what I thought it was, and so that's kind of, you know, that was kind of my process. And then they had a chance to look at, you know, the heart and realize that there had been some damage there. And I literally had a heart attack."
What was it like to share that incident with four individuals?
"I just learned a lot more about the sort of high cholesterol, bad cholesterol and heart attacks and strokes and and things like that. And just learning it, learning you know about their own individual journeys and how they fought and battled and became advocates to get the word out ... Yeah it really gives you a kind of broad example of what people are dealing with out there and just information out there that hopefully can help people."
The documentary has Sanders sit down with four individuals of different backgrounds, age ranges, as they discuss how they experienced and lived through heart attacks. The documentary is called "The Making of a Heart Attack," and it will air on A&E, Saturday, June 14.
Sanders spoke candidly about his experience with a heart attack, but he also talked about being proud that the Detroit Lions are now considered one of the elite teams in the NFL.
How does it feel to see the Lions organization go from being the butt of criticism in the NFL to everyone discussing not if, but when they will punch their ticket to the Super Bowl?
"Oh yeah. I think I speak for a lot of fans just in saying that, yeah. I mean, there's certainly a sense of pride and relief. And you know, so many fans have waited so long for this team to turn around, you know, and to really get his act together, you know. And ever since Coach Campbell came over and Brad Holmes, you know. And along with Rod Wood, and, of course, you know, Sheila Ford Hemp, but ever since they came over and really started putting together this team, then we've seen really improvements every year.
"And you look at last year, 15-2 record ... I'm not going to say it was easy, but at times, it certainly looked easy, watching the games, you know, and seeing how some of the victories that they were able to pull out. I think I think the future is still very bright. I think I think you gotta look at the Lions as being one of the favorites this season."
Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn are now with other teams. Do you think that the Lions can still be dominant now that they have new coordinators on both sides of the ball?
They were a big part of our success. We know what both those guys are made of, you know. I feel the nucleus and the important ingredients were what we were able to do here. It's mostly still here. We certainly will miss Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson, but we feel like the pieces we have on offense and defense, you know, with Hutchinson coming back, you look at kids like Brian Branch. And you know, Alim McNeill, the list goes on and on. Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, Laporta. I mean, it's a solid group. And so if we can stay healthy, we should see similar results that we've seen the last couple of years."
You know, recently, there's been a lot of kind of drama, I guess you would say, on numbers being unretired. Warren Moon allowed Cam Ward to take his No. 1, would you allow anyone to wear your retired number?
I would defer to the team, right? I guess a certain type of player, right, you know, because I was, I was excited to wear Billy Sims' number, it wasn't retired. He was on his way to being retired. He was that kind of player. Guy Lrm Barney, was No. 20 before Billy Sims, you know, I would be open to it if the team felt like it was a certain type of player that they were willing to invest, that sort of thing. I mean I'm saying that right now, but if it actually happened, who knows?"
To listen to the entire interview, watch the video above, and watch "The Making of a Heart Attack" when it debuts on A+E on June 14. Also, visit attackheartdisease.com for more information on joining Sanders to fight back against heart disease.
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