By: Marvin Azrak
There are times when life overtakes sports but rarely has that happened on the field of play. But something unprecedented transpired last Monday during the Bills-Bengals game, a contest on ESPN and highly anticipated due to its seeding implications in the AFC. Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin made a tackle of Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. After the collision, Hamlin came to his feet but then suddenly collapsed. On-field CPR was performed as the tear-eyed players, fans, and broadcasters looked on in shock. Eventually, at 9:25PMET, 30 minutes after he fell to the ground amid experiencing cardiac arrest, he was taken in an ambulance and transported to a nearby hospital until he was allowed to go home back to Buffalo On Monday.
In repose to the incident, the game was postponed, with the two teams refusing to play, and then voided by the NFL despite Cincinnati leading 7-3 with 5:58 left in the first quarter. ESPN magnificently stayed with it and talked about what they knew and described their own human emotions rather than speculating what was happening.
Actions of support included Hamlin’s toy drive receiving $8.5 million in donations from those around the world and raising $32,000 during Sunday’s Patriots-Bills game.
The NFL and all 32 teams social media pages changed their profile pictures to Hamlin with the #3 on it, and guys like Giants coach Brian Daboll attached #3 to their hats and held team meetings at practices to assess the situation. “We offer our prayers to him, his family, to the people in that organization,” the former Bills coach said. “They’ve been through a lot, and this is tragic. It’s tragic to see. I feel for Damar, his family, and all the players and coaches around him daily.”
Before their regular-season finale against the Patriots, the Bills honored the team medical staff. They thanked them for their quick responses, with the doctors at the ICU in Cincinnati constantly credited for “Saving Damar’s life” and putting him in a position for them to do the rest when he arrived at the emergency room. With flags around the bench and Orchard park flying the #3 and the patch stitched on each player’s jersey, the team used it as a rallying cry, growing closer than before as a group. “You learn through things when you go through experiences like this,” McDermott told reporters on Monday. “We will all have grown as people, and as men in this case, the guys that were out there on the field, by going through an experience like this,” the head coach Sean McDermott said, “I think more than anything it was, I don’t know, just a little bit of a sense of accomplishment that we work through this together and now a chance to reset.”
Bills general manager Brandon Beane remained in Cincinnati until Tuesday night with Hamlin, and he said an assistant athletic trainer was still at the medical center as of Friday. The safety’s first words, which he scribed after waking up, were, “Did we win?” The docs responded, “Yes, Damar, you won the game of life.”Upon the 24-year-old being released from the hospital, the organization encouraged those who can attain CPR certification, “We encourage all our fans to continue showing your support and take the next step by obtaining CPR certification. The Buffalo Bills and our partners are dedicated to providing support for those resources; CPR certifications, AED units, and developing cardiac emergency response plans within our community,” the statement read.” Hamlin also took to social media himself, thanking the world and Buffalo for the overflowing support. “Putting love into the world comes back 3xs as much… thankful for everyone who has reached out and prayed. This will strengthen me on the road to recovery; keep praying for me! ”
On Sunday, Hamlin tweeted a picture of himself from his hospital bed with the shirts the league gave out that red Love for Damar with the #3 on it. “It’s GameDay & There’s Nothing I Want More Than To Be Running Out That Tunnel With My Brothers,” he wrote alongside a video of himself from earlier in the season. “God Using Me In A Different Way Today! Tell Someone You Love Them Today!” Damar even apologized to his teammates, but McDermott said there was no need to. “Damar should in no way, shape, or form feel bad or apologize for him putting his teammates through this. We would all agree that God’s hand is in this and has been in it from the first moment.”
As he arrived at the stadium, QB Josh Allen walked in with a sweatshirt with Hamlin’s number and a red quote from him. If you get a chance to show some love today, do it! It won’t cost you nothing.” All over the stands, you could see fans holding signs such as “BILLI3VE,” All the heart for #3,” Love for Damar,” and “Thank You Medical Staff!” On their first play following Hamlin six days prior, Bills returner Nyhiem Hines took the opening kickoff for a 96-yard touchdown and sent the crowd into a frenzy. “OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Hamlin Tweeted and “Free Hines,” he wrote. Doctors described his reaction as “appropriate” but said he set off every alarm in the ICU.
It was the first kick return touchdown for the Bills since October 2019 – three years and three months ago, conspicuously Hamlin’s jersey number.
“I can’t remember a play that touched me like that, I don’t think in my life,” quarterback Josh Allen said after the game. “It was just spiritual. I was going around to my teammates and saying, ‘God’s real.’ You can’t draw that one up or write that one up any better. Hines added a second kick return touchdown in the 3rd quarter, as Buffalo won 35-23 to end the Pats season and clinch the AFC’s two seed at 13-3, and would play the 14-3 Kansas City Chiefs in a neutral site if the two were to meet in the conference title game. It’s unlikely Damar will play in the postseason, which begins this upcoming Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.
The doctors say he has a long way to everyday life. “He’s making great progress; his brain and his neurological function are normal, so right now it’s just a young man recovering from a severe illness,” Dr. Timothy Pritts, chief of surgery at the University of Cincinnati hospital, said during a news conference Monday. “From our standpoint, the best way to do that is to arrange the next steps in his recovery at a local (Buffalo) hospital,” Damar confirmed he was going to Buffalo, saying he was headed home on Twitter.
“Headed home to Buffalo today with a lot of love in my heart. “
Watching the world come together around me on Sunday was truly an amazing feeling.
The same love you all have shown me is the same love that I plan to put back into the world n more.”
Meanwhile, the Pittsburg Penguins(20-13-6) were supposed to go home after a 10-day road trip following their 4-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes(13-21-5) but instead flew to Montreal and landed at 4 AM to attend teammate Kris Letang’s father’s funeral.
“There are bigger things than hockey. Family is No. 1, and we all consider him family,” Bryan Rust said. When they take the ice for Tuesday’s home game against the Vancouver Canucks(17-19-3), every player will wear a “CF” sticker in memory of Letang’s father, Claude Fouquet.
These athletes put their bodies on the line each time they’re out there. So while yes, they do get paid to do this and can let our fans sometimes, we should still appreciate them for the entertainers they are and the behind-the-scenes work that goes into it.