Jai Hamlin in the Buffalo Bills, The University of Cincinnati Hospital, and the NFL: How do you play after a tragedy happens in front of your teammates?
In the wake of the Cincinnati tragedy, where Buffalo Bills safety Jai Hamlin suffered a heart attack on the field and was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, I can’t help but think about Hughes and football.
The player was taken to the hospital by Bills team trainers after the collapse. He was given cardiopulmonary intervention after an ambulance arrived in less than five minutes, according to a broadcast.
The NFL and the NFL Players Association agreed to postpone the game, the NFL statement said. NFL executive vice president of operations Troy Vincent said in the press call that neither of the teams’ coaches or players asked to continue playing.
“I’ve never seen anything like it since I’ve been playing,” Vincent said. The player hat went on immediately. How do you restart your play after a traumatic event happens in front of you?
The university of Cincinnati hospital was where Hamlin was being treated, and according to the broadcast, Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs arrived there.
Hamlin played every game this year. The Bills selected the Pennsylvania native as a sixth-round draft pick in 2021.
He was a member of the Pittsburgh panthers in 2016 but was a Redshirted due to an injury. The NFL website states he missed time due to injuries.
“We have been in touch with Bills and Bengals players, and with the NFL. The only thing that matters at the moment is the health and well being of Damar.
The Dallas Cowboys Player of the Night: Damar Hamlin’s Injuries in a Supercolliding Airborne Bomb
“It’s definitely the right call,” he said after the Lakers game against the Charlotte Hornets Monday night, adding, “The safety of players in all sports is always the most important. It was awful to see.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen asked for prayers for his brother, who is in intensive care. The Bills wide receiver was seen at the hospital.
Well wishes and prayers were sent by several star athletes, including Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, and free agent Odell Beckham Jr.
The tragic events played out in front of a packed Cincinnati arena and a large crowd of TV viewers who spent Monday night praying for Hamlin’s recovery.
The hospital didn’t have any information on Hamlin or his care. It’s also unclear when hospital officials may brief the media.
After his injury, fans showed their support for Hamlin by contributing millions of dollars to an online fundraiser that Hamlin started back in 2020 — before he went pro — aimed at buying toys for kids affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in his hometown. As of midday Tuesday it had raised more than $3.8 million, far surpassing its original goal of $2,500.
In a statement released midday Tuesday, Hamlin’s family thanked first responders, medical professionals, both football teams and fans around their country for their support, prayers and donations.
“I’m asking all New Yorkers to join me in praying for Damar Hamlin, his family, his teammates, and our brothers and sisters in Buffalo,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.
Damar Rooney: From NFL to Buffalo, and he’s the founder of Chasing M’s for his hometown of Damar
He made a name for himself in high school, leading his team to a 15-1 record, a WPIAL Class AAAA championship and PIAA state title in his senior year. Recruitment sites Rivals and 247Sports named Hamlin the top-rated defensive player in Pennsylvania and several Division 1 football schools pursued him.
Hamlin stated that the Chasing M’s Foundation would be a program he created to give back to his community, and that he was also the founder and CEO of Chasing M’s.
“I mean, if there’s anyone I have confidence in making it out of anything, it’s him. He is someone who always figures out a way to come out on top,” Rooney told CNN’s Adrienne Broaddus Tuesday.
“He’s in the NFL because he wants to be a role model,” Rooney said. “Part of what drives Damar is to be an example for the other young people in his community.”
He always wanted to build his own brand and this is something that is pretty unique and the reason why.
“He interned for me and then we just became super, super close so now, you know, we’re partners in a business together. We collaborate on a lot of things and we’re really good friends.”
He told CNN that he loves doing the toy drive and that he is able to give it to Buffalo because of it.
Isaiah Hamlin: A Pittsburgh native who loved football and the Pittsburgh Central Catholic high school, and his dad, Josh, as a Baltimore Ravens player
In an interview with the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle in 2021, Hamlin said that he was kept on a straight path by his parents as a kid, because they had drug and gang problems.
Hamlin told the paper that his parents helped him get back on track but that at times he could have steered right or left.
Hamlin assisted his mother, who was at the game on Monday, in a family cleaning business that enabled him to go to the private Pittsburgh Central Catholic high school.
Fans also showed their support by pouring millions of dollars into a charity that Hamlin started in 2020, shortly before he was picked in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Josh Allen donated $1.1 million to build a new wing at the hospital after his grandmother’s death. They raised $75,000 for the charity of Lamar Jackson, the Baltimore Ravens’ rival player, after he was removed from a playoff game for a concussion.
The 24-year-old’s collapse — which happened in the first quarter, after he collided with a Bengals player — brought a rare early halt to the game and left onlookers both on and off the field distraught.
Players, teams and athletes from football and other sports have flooded social media with tributes and prayers. He began his career as a football player at the University of Pittsburgh, where he played for five years before joining the NFL.
I was in Pittsburgh. Everything was Pittsburgh for me,” he said. “I wanted to give my city bragging rights, bring my city something and just give the city another reason to smile.”
The Memories of a Big Brother: The Baltimore Giants’ View of Hamlin’s First Game at the Coltezuma Stadium
He played in all 15 games for the Bills so far this season and had a team-leading 91 tackles, six tackles for loss, two pass breakups and 1.5 sacks.
Hamlin and Jackson have known each other since they were children and have described each other as brothers. They played together for years at the University of Pittsburgh. When Hamlin was drafted by the Bills, he called it a “dream come true” to be reunited with his friend.
“It feels so surreal. Like I can’t even describe it. Hamlin said in a media interview that he cherishes every second that he can.
The fall of E.T. Hamlin and his family in a Pittsburgh, Bengals, locker room: A tribute to Godsey
He said that his entire life revolves around his parents and little brother. My parents’ opinion is the only thing I do too much without. Whether I take it or whether I don’t … sometimes I just want to hear it.”
Years earlier, Hamlin told the Globe that he wanted to stay in Pittsburgh for college in part to be a role model for his brother, who was 2 years old at the time, and cited his parents as his personal role models.
Pittsburgh sports journalist Amanda Godsey tweeted Monday night that her mind went straight to Hamlin’s family after seeing him collapse, recalling that he seemed close to his parents and had his brother on his lap during a media session several years ago.
8:56 p.m. E.T. Hamlin tackled Bengals receiver Tee Higgins around midfield, taking a hard hit to his chest. The time was recorded both by reporter Luke Jones of local TV station WKRC and a liveblog from Sporting News. At first glance, the play was not unusual, as Hamlin had initially stood up while adjusting his facemask and then fell backward on the turf.
During timeouts, the broadcastcut to commercials, a standard practice. When the program resumed, NFL players could be seen openly weeping as emergency medical staff clustered around the stricken athlete. Buck seemed stunned into silence along with everyone else.
“There’s nothing to say,” Buck said at one point as the cameras showed the faces of the coaches and players, with their faces filled with emotion and concern.
An ambulance ride across the field as Hamlin’s player gets up and plays again: The Cincinnati Dolphins’ first game in a locker room
9 p.m. An ambulance was seen backing rapidly across the field toward Hamlin at Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium, in a video posted by local sports reporter Joe Danneman of local TV station FOX 19.
The entire Bills team is out on the field. “Several players are down on their knees, other players are holding hands, praying. You can just see the worried looks on their faces.”
Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow was in the middle of the crowd. After minutes of hushed quiet in the stadium, brief applause broke out when Hamlin was seen on a stretcher.
9:12 p.m. — Hamlin was taken off the field by the ambulance. The emergency vehicle then paused in the parking lot — apparently to give Hamlin’s mother, who was at the game, time to ride in the ambulance with her son, Danneman reported.
“I have zero clue how anybody is expected to continue playing this game,” The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr., who is based in Cincinnati, tweeted. “What a horrifying scene that was.”
Ben Baby said the game seems to be continuing after the players come back on the field. His helmet was back on as he threw the warm up passes.
“They’ve been given 5 minutes to, quote unquote, get ready to go back to playing,” Buck said of the situation. “That’s the word we get from the league and the word we get from down on the field, but nobody’s moving.”
The station said that both of the teams were brought to their locker rooms by the coaches. They were seen in the tunnel between locker rooms, passing a phone to each other, and meeting the game officials. Shortly after that phone call, the league announced play was to be suspended indefinitely.”
9:29 p.m. “Zac Taylor walked to the Bills locker room area and was waiting outside before meeting with the referees along with his coach, Doug McDermott,” said Danneman.
When the Bengals met the Bills-Bengals game in late December, 1998, “It was a gut punch,” Garafolo said
The five-minute warm up period is standard procedure after a game is delayed, according to the local TV station which was carrying the game.
The station also said that before the game was formally suspended, Burrow and other Bengals players had left their home locker room to join Bills players in the visitors’ facility.
The time is 1:34 a.m. Tuesday. The league said that the Bills-Bengals game will not be played this week and that there was no decision on when the game would resume.
“There was no time period for the players to get warmed up,” Vincent said, according to Garafolo. “It never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play. That’s ridiculous. That’s insensitive. We shouldn’t be in that place.
After Hamlin’s heart stopped beating following what seemed like a routine tackle, first responders resuscitated him by performing CPR and using a defibrillator.
“I’m not a crier, but I’ve never cried so hard in my life,” Glenn said of watching those uncertain moments unfold on a screen. When my nephew died on the field, they brought him back to life. It’s heart-breaking. To see all those grown men cry. man, it really was a gut punch.”
Hamlin had to go, but what he didn’t: How medical staff assisted the higher power to make sure he wasn’t lying
As more and more medical staff were called over, Dion Dawkins realised the gravity of Hamlin’s condition when he stayed on the ground.
You are just thinking, What can I do? What can we do? And it just immediately breaks you down into prayer,” Dawkins told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “Whether you’re a believer or not, only a higher power can really take control of what is next. Our people assisted the higher power.
Hamlin’s collapse is the latest in a string of recent tragedies that have struck the community of Buffalo and its beloved football team, including a racist mass shooting and a historic blizzard that left at least 41 people dead in Erie County, New York.
The doctor addressed a theory that the cardiac arrest could have been caused by a heart problem called commotio cordis, which can happen when trauma to the chest affects the heart’s electrical charge.
CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explained that when the heart is not beating well, fluid can sometimes back up into the lungs and make it hard for medical staff to oxygenate the patient. So, they will flip the person on their stomach into a prone position to make breathing easier.
“So you want to improve the amount of circulation, but in the interim, you can also decrease the demand by sedating somebody, by keeping them on a breathing machine,” he said. “Sometimes they’ll even use cooling agents, hypothermia it’s called, to basically almost put the body in more of a hibernation-like state so it’s not demanding as much oxygenated blood. That’s part of the reason he would be on a breathing machine as well.”
An NFL Player’s Story: After a Year in the Life and Death of Damar Stallworth and the Loses of his Football Club
“On behalf of our family, we want to express our sincere gratitude for the love and support shown to Damar during this challenging time. The statement said they are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words and donations from fans around the country.
Former NFL player Donté Stallworth said the league’s decision to postpone the game wouldn’t have happened years ago. He told JimSciutto the game would have resumed five or ten years ago.
Is this okay? Hamlin had a cardiac arrest after what seemed to many observers to be a run-of-the-mill hit. For those who love and watch this game to avoid its moral questions, his story and Hughes’ still make it impossible. Is a game that results in so much pain and suffering to be decent in an enlightened societies? Should we talk more about the 2017 Boston University study that found Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in 99% of brains obtained from NFL players, as well as 91% of college football players? Are we questioning the wisdom of grown men slamming into grown men? Can we debate whether youth tackle leagues are life-affirming, or insane?
The club was left in the lurch after Hamlins hospitalization, having a home game relocated to Detroit and being stuck in Chicago during the holidays, but the source said the shock had been heavy on everyone associated with the club.
Damar Hamlin: The Darling of the Bills. Remembering where you are, when you can’t always be an ambassador for football
The scouting report on the star defensive back from the University of Pittsburgh said he had great instincts and a nose for the ball, but that he was undersized and perhaps a bit slow.
I’m willing to do anything to be a part of the team. I don’t care if it’s I gotta pass out water at halftime,” he said to reporters after the draft. I will do it regardless of what it is. I don’t got no pride.”
Before Monday, Hamlin had experienced many emotions, including an opportunity of a lifetime and reminders of the perils of football.
“Me and my family, we all seen it as the perfect opportunity to be able to come in and learn,” he said in a Bills media interview in November. “Some rookies, they have the pressure of having to get out there right away. They might burn their wicks short if they are not ready for their moment.
The incident happened when Jackson made a tackle against theTitans and took a hard blow to the head and neck.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/01/04/1146800229/damar-hamlin-bills-cherished-opportunity
The Last Folk Hero: A Story that Came from the Bottom of a Muddy Field: The Case of Chuck Hughes, the Detroit Lions Wide Receiver
Hamlin seemed to take every chance he had to count his blessings, even as he racked up tackles and played time in the media.
He reminded Jackson that he was in the same place as they wanted to be when they walked in the morning, even though he was sleepy.
He said that he grabbed his hand harder because you never know when you are going to get to experience something like this.
Jeff Pearlman is the author of ten books and his latest is The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson. The views expressed here are his own. CNN has opinions on it.
It can be found in the archives of the Detroit Free Press, an image that appeared on the top of page 1D of the morning newspaper in 1971.
There, lying face down on a muddy field, rests the body of Chuck Hughes, Detroit Lions wide receiver, who moments earlier ran 15 yards into the Chicago Bears secondary, stopped, grabbed with both hands at his chest, then collapsed to his stomach.
Wrote George Puscas, the Free Press’ executive sports editor: “From the moment Dick Butkus, the huge Chicago Bears linebacker, began waving frantically at the Lions’ bench, it was obvious that Chuck Hughes was in serious trouble.”
POW! And POP! When Damar Hamlin & Brandon Hughes met on the surface of Tiger Stadium, 1971, when Damar had his father killed
The National Football League is the land of soda. There are potato chips. Now at NFL.com are embroidered jerseys and hats costing $169 and $59 respectively. If you order asap, you will be able to get free shipping. It’s the land of gambling apps and fantasy leagues, with shiny helmets and colorful uniforms, cheerleaders and adults dressed as barnyard animals. The NFL exists to entice your senses and pull your dollars and bring your suppressed aggressions to life every Sunday afternoon. It is very loud. Also POW! and POP!
When, in 1971, Hughes was removed from the field, league officials knew he was dead (“We reached him and there was no pulse,” said Dr. Richard A. Thompson, an osteopath on the scene), then took all of 10 minutes to decide the action must continue.
Some of the fans who agree with this are trying to show respect, but coming from NFL-associated voices, it started to sound too much like unofficial/official dogma: Drink your Pepsi. Tostitos are a Mexican snack. Wear your foam finger. Don’t pay much attention to the carnage.
Brandon Hughes was only one when his father died on the surface of Tiger Stadium, but as soon as he saw what happened to Damar Hamlin, the emotions hit hard. “Everything they were saying was so familiar to me,” Brandon, an employee at a mutual fund company, told me. They kept talking about it being unprecedented. I thought no. It is not. Not at all.
Brandon Hughes called his mother Sharon – now 77 but widowed at 24. She was sad by the uncertainty of Hamlin’s future as well as the echoes of past tragedy.
After Collapse of the Colts, Glenn and Hamlin went to see his nephew, Jamal, on the field he told CBS
Glenn traveled 300 miles to be with the second-year NFL player and his immediate family early Tuesday morning, he told CBS. His nephew collapsed on the field when he was watching the game.
Hamlin lay in a Cincinnati hospital after collapsing on the field in the first quarter of the Colts game against the Bengals.
The two were talking earlier Monday before Hamlin’s collapse, and the pair became close friends at their high school. “It calmed me way down,” Thomas said of seeing his friend. It made the trip home a lot easier. I could just go home and be sure he is going to be straight. I got him. We all got him. Everyone is behind him.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/05/sport/damar-hamlin-collapse-bills-status-thursday/index.html
The Game of January 3: Hamlin Collapsed in a Critically Ill-Posed Appearance at the Collider
The game was seen as an important match up with significant playoff implications, but by the end of the season it had been watched by 21.2 million people. The “Monday Night Football” broadcast had a new high of 24.9 million viewers, making the show the most watched in the history of the network.
“You have to have the right type of blow hitting at the right spot on the chest with the right amount of force at just the right time in that cardiac cycle. So a lot of things have to line up for that to happen,” he said, emphasizing that while it is possible, investigators will consider all options.
The response by medical personnel when Hamlin collapsed was attributed to the 60 second meeting of medical teams and officials before every game. In case of an emergency, a chain of command is established during a meeting after teams identify the location of medical equipment.
A high-ranking official within the Bills organization told CNN’s Coy Wire that they broke down in tears after day and night-long meetings on Tuesday, sobbing because of the heaviness of the situation.
The team has tried to be an example of strength for the city as a result of the many difficult blows it has received, a source tells Wire.
The source pointed to the performance of Buffalo Sabres hockey forward Tage Thompson on Tuesday night as a “glimmer of hope” at a time when the team needs inspiration.
Hamlin wore his jersey number 3 for the entire game on January 3. Thompson’s three goals during overtime brought the Sabres a win. It was Thompson’s third hat trick of the season and his third goal came fortuitously in the third minute of overtime.
Pritts: He’s doing fine, but he’s not terribly fortunate to be here, so what will he do next?
“We had significant concern about him after the injury and after the event which happened on the field but he has made substantial improvement,” said UCMC physician Timothy Pritts.
Hamlin is unable to speak because of his breathing tube but has been able to communicate through writing, the physicians said. He is able to move his feet, hands and head.
While talking with William Knight IV, the physician for UCMC, he expressed his surprise that he had not been with the world for a couple days.
Hamlin’s father, Mario Hamlin, addressed the Buffalo Bills team on a Zoom call Wednesday to let everyone that Hamlin was making progress, ESPN reported.