It’s a strange feeling when you know in your gut something just isn’t right.
In the middle of working one of my jobs, I went to check my fantasy football team to see how Joe Burrow was doing. When I looked again 5 minutes later and saw nothing had changed in the game, a chill came over me as I wondered why the game had stopped.
That’s when I realized it had become bigger than a game.
In the first quarter of the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals game on Monday, Bills Safety Damar Hamlin made a tackle on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. It looked pretty standard. Everyone popped right back up. Except, a minute later, Hamlin collapsed back to the ground.
Afterward, it was learned Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest due to a hit to the chest, suffering what is known as “Commotio Cordis.” Commotio Cordis is the heart, at the moment of relaxation in the beat, taking on a blunt-force trauma that sends the organ into a state of arrest.
Medics quickly emerged from both sidelines and took immediate action, administering CPR and an AED to try and restore Hamlin’s pulse.
They successfully did. Hamlin was then rushed to the University of Cincinnati medical center to be given further attention. His vitals were restored and he was put into a medically-induced coma so doctors could insert a breathing tube.
Hamlin is currently in critical condition as his family awaits further updates on his condition and thank everyone for their kindness during this time.
“Your generosity and compassion mean the world to us,” Hamlin’s marketing representative Jordan Rooney said in a statement on Tuesday on behalf of his family. “Please keep Damar in your prayers.”
Those who were watching encourage you to keep Hamlin in your thoughts as well.
“All lines disappear — there are no winners or losers, no records, no separation by teams. No matter where or when you played, today we are one family, one brotherhood united in prayer for Damar,” Hall of Fame former quarterback Steve Young tweeted.
Back on the field, the NFL is still taking some heat for how its Monday Night Football Game was handled. They informed players they would take a 5-minute break and then restart the game. Inexcusably. Bills Head Coach Sean McDermott rightfully refused and pulled his team off the field. The Bengals did the same, and the game is currently suspended.
It is abhorrent the NFL would consider starting the game that soon after what everyone had just witnessed. Players across the board were seen visibly shaken on live TV, and clearly in no state to play another second.
The game has massive playoff implications, with the Bengals and Bills fighting for the 1-seed in the AFC. With one week left to play, the make-up window is tight, but that needs to take a back seat right now.
Known for some bad takes over the years, Fox Sports Undisputed host Skip Bayless is receiving universal backlash for writing on Twitter in response to Hamlin’s injury: “NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game – but how? This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome… which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”
Even if it were the Super Bowl, it would’ve been canceled. Some analysts are just in it for themselves and the clicks, apparently. The life of a human being is on the line, and all that can be thought about is the restart of the game?
Hamlin, though just 24 years of age, has made a pretty profound impact on and off the field. The safety’s holiday toy drive for his McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania community made $2,900 through GoFundMe.
This was before Hamlin went into cardiac arrest. The drive has now raised $4.8 million, as of Tuesday.
“As I embark on my journey to the NFL, I will never forget where I come from and I am committed to using my platform to positively [affect] the community that raised me,” Hamlin wrote to introduce his campaign. “I created the Chasing M’s Foundation as a vehicle that will allow me to deliver that impact and the first program is the 2020 community toy drive. This campaign gives you the opportunity to contribute to our first initiative and positively impact children who have been hardest hit by the pandemic. 100% of the funds raised will go toward the purchase of toys for kids in need.”
The Messenger’s thoughts and prayers are with Damar Hamlin, his family, friends, and the Buffalo Bills organization.
