Bills co-owner Kim Pegula returned to public Friday, more than two years after her debilitating cardiac arrest. She held the hand of her husband, co-owner Terry Pegula, as he led her to break down the post-practice team huddle.
Josh Allen put his arm around Kim Pegula, and she raised her hand in the air as Allen said, “Bills on three. 1, 2, 3, Bills!”
Kim Pegula watched the first two days of training camp from the passenger seat of the family’s SUV parked on the track near one of the end zones. She did the same at times last year in her first appearances since her health issues.
On Friday, Pegula showed the progress she has made from “significant expressive aphasia and memory issues” from a brain injury following her cardiac arrest shortly after her 53rd birthday in June 2022, per an essay her daughter, pro tennis player Jessica Pegula, wrote for The Players Tribune in February 2023.
“Obviously, some tough times for the entire Pegula family dealing with that. We love seeing her out here,” Allen said Friday, via Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN. “She gave so much energy and effort, obviously when she was a couple years ago, obviously before the incident and everything. So, it’s the least that we can do is rally around her, and we’ve been praying for her every day here. Glad to see her back on the field, and I know that a lot of the new guys don’t understand, obviously the impact that she had on a lot of guys here, like myself. So, we’re just happy to see her out there.”
Kim Pegula was the first woman to serve as president of both an NFL and NHL team. Terry Pegula since has taken over those roles of both the Bills and Sabres.
“We’ve seen her every day, and to see her progress, it’s amazing,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said. “I’m proud of her. That’s still the Mama Bear.”
