The NFL has rallied around Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin, who is in a critical condition after a sudden health scare early in his side’s Monday Night Football clash with the Cincinnati Bengals.
The 24-year-old defender completed a tackle in the first quarter and returned to his feet before almost immediately collapsing backwards in the middle of the field.
WATCH IN THE VIDEO ABOVE: NFL stadium stands silent as player receives CPR.
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The stadium stood in silence as an ambulance arrived and medical personnel continued working on Hamlin.
Hamlin’s uniform was cut off for initial treatment but his condition appeared to take a turn for the worse when he was being loaded into the ambulance.
ESPN commentator Joe Buck reported Hamlin was placed back on the field for several minutes of CPR while he also reportedly received oxygen.
UPDATED STORY: Demar Hamlin’s close friend shares a chilling health update on his condition.
Hamlin, whose family rushed from the stands to be with him, was driven away in an ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center approximately 30 minutes after collapsing.
The game was temporarily suspended with just under six minutes remaining in the first quarter, with coaches quickly putting a stop to the NFL’s attempts to resume the contest.
But it was only abandoned about an hour after Hamlin first collapsed.
The NFL’s statement on the postponement confirmed Hamlin is in critical condition.
“No one’s been through this,” longtime NFL quarterback Troy Aikman said on ESPN during the lengthy delay.
“I’ve never seen anything like it, either.”
A European championship football game between Denmark and Finland in 2021 continued after Danish star Christian Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest in the first half.
The aftermath of Hamlin’s injury was reminiscent of when Bills tight end Kevin Everett lay motionless on the field after making a tackle on the second-half opening kickoff in Buffalo’s 2007 season-opening game against the Denver Broncos.
Everett sustained a spinal cord injury that initially left him partially paralyzed.
Hamlin spent five years of college at his hometown Pitt and appeared in 48 games for the Panthers over that span.
He was a second-team All-ACC performer as a senior, was voted a team captain and was chosen to play in the Senior Bowl.
He was drafted in the sixth round by the Bills in 2021, played in 14 games as a rookie and then became a starter this year once Micah Hyde was lost for the season to injury.
Entering the game, the 183cm, 91kg Hamlin had 91 tackles, including 63 solo tackles, and one and a half sacks.
– with AP
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