NFL player Damar Hamlin is in a critical condition in hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest during the Monday Night Football game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.
The 24-year-old Bills defensive back briefly got to his feet after making what appeared to be a routine tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins with five minutes and 58 seconds remaining in the first quarter but then collapsed to the ground.
The game in Cincinnati was halted as medical staff quickly attended to him and administered CPR for approximately 10 minutes, with players from both teams visibly distraught as the situation unfolded.
The Bills have since issued a statement confirming Hamlin’s cardiac arrest, adding that his “heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment.
“He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.”
As Hamlin was taken in an ambulance to the hospital at 9.25pm local time, Bills head coach Sean McDermott was seen leading his team in prayer before players from both teams headed to the locker rooms, some with tears in their eyes. The NFL later announced the game had been postponed.
“Hamlin received immediate medical attention on the field by team and independent medical staff and local paramedics,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
“He was then transported to a local hospital where he is in critical condition.
“Our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills. We will provide more information as it becomes available.”
Hamlin is in his second season in the NFL, after being taken in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Bills. He spent five years playing his college football at Pittsburgh, his hometown, appearing in 48 games for the Panthers
Hamlin has started 14 games for the Bills this season in place of injured safety Micah Hyde, who suffered a neck injury in Week Two and has been on injured reserve since. He is tied for the second-most tackles on the team this year, with 91.
Hamlin has a charitable foundation, ‘Chasing M’s’, that has been raising money for a toy drive. His stated goal was $2,500, but by early Tuesday morning, it had over $3m in donations.
The entire Bills team departed Paycor Stadium shortly after midnight, with NFL Network‘s Cameron Wolfe reporting they would be flying back to Buffalo that evening, though it is understood some chose to stay behind in Cincinnati.
Team-mate Stefon Diggs joined Hamlin at the hospital, with about 100 Bills and a few Bengals fans also gathering on the corner near the entrance, with some of them holding candles.
After Hamlin exited the field in an ambulance, it looked briefly as if play might resume, before Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and Bills counterpart McDermott met with game officials and the decision was made to pause the game, which the Bengals were leading 7-3.
The NFL announced a full postponement to the fixture just after 10pm, 90 minutes following kick-off. Jeff Miller, an executive vice president of the NFL, told reporters on a conference call early on Tuesday morning that the league had made no plans at this time to play the game. “That’s not our consideration right now,” he said. “Our concern is for the player and his wellbeing.”
The game has major playoff implications as the NFL enters the final week of the 2022 regular season, with the Bills needing a win to reclaim the No 1 seed in the AFC in the hope of clinching a first-round bye and home advantage through the playoffs. The Bengals would have clinched the AFC North division title with a victory.
The Bills are scheduled to close out the regular season on Sunday when they host the New England Patriots, while the Bengals take on the Baltimore Ravens. The playoffs are due to begin on the weekend of January 14/15.
How the NFL reacted…
Many fellow NFL players and teams and others in the sports world and beyond quickly offered their support and prayers on social media for Hamlin, while NBA star LeBron James sent his best wishes to the Bills safety when speaking to reporters after the Los Angeles Lakers’ win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.
“It was definitely the right call [to postpone the game] by Roger Goodell or whoever had the authority to make that call,” LeBron said. “The safety of players in all sports is always the most important.
“It is a terrible thing to see and I wish nothing but the best for that kid and the city of Buffalo, for the franchise of the Bills and the rest of the NFL and also the Bengals that were playing in that game as well.
“I’m a huge fan of the NFL and a huge fan of football and you never want to see anything like that happen.”
Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety, Ryan Clark, was himself in a critical condition in 2007 after high altitude conditions aggravated a sickle cell trait during a game in Denver.
Speaking on ESPN after the game’s postponement following Hamlin’s hospitalisation, he said: “I dealt with this before and I watched my team-mates for days come to my hospital bed and just cry.
“I had them call me and tell me that they didn’t think I was going to make it. Now this team are going to have to deal with that – and they have no answer.
“The next time that we get upset at our favourite fantasy player, or if we’re upset that the guy on our team doesn’t make the play… we should remember that these men are putting their lives on the line to live their dream.
“Tonight Damar Hamlin’s dream became a nightmare for not only himself, but his family and entire team.”
NFL Hall of Fame quarterback turned commentator, Troy Aikman, said on the broadcast at the time of Hamlin’s collapse: “No one’s been through this. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Aikman later added: “The gravity of the situation became very clear, very soon.
“To watch what we did tonight was hard on everybody. Prayers, of course, are with Damar and his family. We can only hope for the best.
“Everyone has said it, the football becomes secondary. But, quite frankly, I don’t know how they get this game in – I don’t think they can. Right now, that’s a discussion for another time and another place.”
This content was originally published here.
