Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin, 24, was in critical condition after going into cardiac arrest after tackled an opponent during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals Monday night, the team said.
“Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest after being hit in our game against the Bengals. His heart rhythm was restored on the field and he was transported to the University of California Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and in critical condition,” the Bills explained in a statement posted on the social network Twitter.
The defender had to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR, in English) on the field, according to the television channel ESPN, after collapsing on the field of play moments after colliding with Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, in a play that did not seemed unusually violent.
Hamlin’s colleagues, visibly shaken and unable to suppress tears, immediately surrounded him as he was treated by medical personnel.
The fateful play began when Higgins drove with his right shoulder, which caught Hamlin in the chest. The Bills player then wrapped his arms around his opponent’s shoulders and helmet to drag him down and tackle him. Hamlin rose to his feet, appeared to adjust his face mask with his right hand, but about three seconds later he fell backwards and lay flat on the field, motionless and face up.
Hamlin, who is 6 feet tall and weighs 200 pounds, was treated on the field by team medical personnel and local paramedics, the NFL said. He was later taken by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
About 100 Bills fans and a few Bengals fans flocked to a corner near the emergency entrance. Some of them carried candles in their hands as a sign of support.
[La kilométrica fila de fanáticos que acudieron a despedir a Pelé, la leyenda del fútbol]
The NFL announced more than an hour after the injury that the players would not return to the field Monday night and that the game was suspended. In a subsequent conference call with reporters, NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller said the league had no plans at this time to resume play, and that Hamlin’s health is the organization’s top focus.
An ambulance arrived on the field four minutes after Hamlin collapsed, with many players crying, including cornerback Tre’Davious White. The quarterbacks — Buffalo’s Josh Allen and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow — hugged.
“Please pray for our brother,” Allen wrote on Twitter.
Hamlin collapsed at 8:55 p.m. ET, and when he was carried off the field about 19 minutes later, the Bills gathered in prayer. A few minutes after the ambulance left the field, the game was suspended, and the players slowly left the field and headed to their changing rooms.
“I’ve never seen anything like this since I’ve been playing,” NFL executive Troy Vincent, a six-time Pro Bowl cornerback during his career, said on the conference call. “How do you resume the game after seeing a traumatic event in front of you?” he wondered.
Hamlin’s uniform was cut up and he appeared to be receiving CPR from medical personnel. ESPN reported on its broadcast that Hamlin also received oxygen.
Vincent said the league took no action to restart play and did not ask players to start a 5-minute warm-up period as announced by ESPN announcers.
“It never crossed our minds to talk about warming up to resume the game,” he stressed. “That’s ridiculous. It’s insensitive. That is not a place we should be in,” she noted.
Vincent added that the Bills intended to return to their facility in Orchard Park, New York, early Tuesday, with the exception of a few players who will stay with Hamlin.
The Bengals led 7-3 in the first quarter of the game. Both teams are competing for the top playoff spot in the AFC. Cincinnati entered at 11-4 and led the AFC North by a game over Baltimore, while AFC East champion Buffalo was 12-3.
“The NFLPA and everyone in our community is praying for Damar Hamlin,” the players’ union said in a statement. “We have been in contact with the players of the Bills and the Bengals, and with the NFL. The only thing that matters right now is Damar’s health and well-being,” he added.
[La extenista Martina Navratilova anuncia que padece cáncer de mama y garganta]
The unfinished game has major playoff implications as the NFL enters the final week of the regular season, with the wild-card playoff round scheduled to begin on January 14.
Hamlin’s faint brought to mind the moment Bills tight end Kevin Everett froze on the field after making a tackle on the kickoff in the second half of Buffalo’s 2007 season opener against Buffalo. the Denver Broncos.
Everett suffered a spinal cord injury that left him partially paralyzed.
Hamlin spent five years at the University of Pittsburgh, his hometown, and appeared in 48 games with the Panthers. He was a member of the ACC second team as a senior, was elected team captain, and was selected to play in the Senior Bowl.
He was selected in the sixth round by the Bills in the 2021 NFL draft, played 14 games as a rookie and became a starter this year after Micah Hyde’s injury.
The Pitts summed up in a tweet what the defender represents to them: “Damar Hamlin is the best of us. We love you, 3,” they said, using the number on his college jersey. “We pray for you.”
