ORCHARD PARK, NY - SEPTEMBER 19: Damar Hamlin #3 of the Buffalo Bills after a game against the Tennessee Titans at Highmark Stadium on September 19, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
On Monday night, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed during the first quarter of a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. According to the Bills, the 24-year-old player experienced cardiac arrest. At this time, it’s unclear what caused the arrest, but Hamlin remains sedated and in critical condition.
In their tweeted update, the Bills revealed that Hamlin’s heartbeat was restored before emergency personnel transferred him to the hospital.
Video of the unsettling moment began circulating online almost immediately. After tackling the Bengals’ player Tee Higgins, Hamlin (player #3) stood up but fell limp on his back moments later. Seconds after his collapse, Bills team trainers rushed to assist the safety. Hamlin was worked on for about nine minutes, including given CPR, before the transfer to UC Medical Center.
Here’s a reported timeline of Hamlin’s cardiac arrest:
There were about 5:58 minutes left in the first quarter of the NFL game when Hamlin collapsed. At this time, it’s unclear if the game will be rescheduled. However, NFL Executive VP of Operations Troy Vincent said the league and NFL Players Association agreed on the short-lived game. Moreover, none of the Bills or Bengals coaches and players asked to continue playing.
Instead, players, particularly from the Bills team, embraced, cried, and prayed together on the field following Hamlin’s collapse. Several of Damar’s teammates took to Twitter afterward with prayers and well-wishes. A few decided to stay in Cincinnati, while the rest of the team travels back to Buffalo today, per CNN. Late Monday night, Bills’ wide receiver Stefon Diggs arrived at UC Medical Center in support.
Hamlin’s teammates, along with other NFL teams, coaches, and players, including Higgins, later took to Twitter with prayers and well-being wishes for Damar.
And plenty of folks, including Matt Barnes and Isiah Thomas, stood behind Damar when sports commentator Skip Bayless made a comment about postponing the game “this late in the season.” Bayless later issued an apology, but calls for him to be canceled haven’t stopped as of Tuesday morning.
“Nothing is more important than that young man’s health. That was the point of my last tweet. I’m sorry if that was misunderstood, but his health is all that matters. Again, everything else is irrelevant. I prayed for him & will continue to,” Bayless said.
Undisputed aired on Tuesday, and Skip, who is one of its hosts, again spoke on Damar’s condition and their decision to do the show.
