The week 17 NFL showdown between the Bills and Bengals, a match with large playoff implications, ended up taking a sharp turn for the worst within the first quarter. With 5:58 remaining, Bills safety Damar Hamlin tackled Tee Higgins bringing him over and across his body, with Higgins shoulder pad making contact with Hamlin’s chest. In the following seconds after the tackle Hamlin got up seemingly unaffected, but then suddenly collapsed on the field.
The shocking event caused a moment of uncertainty for players and fans alike as they all were unaware of the severity of his condition or exactly how something like this can happen without warning. The collapse was due to him entering cardiac arrest, leading to him receiving immediate medical attention while on the field. They performed CPR on him until an ambulance arrived where as he was placed onto a stretcher and taken away to University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
The game was officially postponed after Bills coaching staff came to an agreement with Bengals coaches that beginning play in 5 minutes as officials instructed them wasn’t enough.
Hamlin’s condition remained critical for days following the hit and he remained on a ventilator until Friday, when he started to breathe on his own.
Following the incident, concerned fans, players and fellow NFL teams began flooding the donations of his GoFundMe called the “The Chasing M’s Foundation” to give toys to kids in need. The fundraiser raised $100,000 before the incident, and now has amassed 8 million dollars in support. He also began to sell t-shirts brandishing the question “Did we win?” and the heart symbol he held up in a photo taken from his hospital bed. The shirts cost $33 each and proceeds went towards first responders and the University of CIncinnati Medical trauma center.
Multiple teams in the NFL chose to show their support and solidarity the following week by wearing number three patches during their games.
After being discharged after 9 days in the hospital and continuing rehab on his own, he was later honored at the Super Bowl alongside with the first responders that saved his life.
With this public appearance we can hope for his return as a safety next season. But what this put on display was each team’s ability to put aside their competitiveness for a minute and support something more important than the game: someone’s health and wellbeing. This support wasn’t limited to just the teams as fans of various teams put aside their hatred and amassed an outstanding amount of donations into his affiliated fundraisers. There really are more important things than winning and losing.
