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2023 collapse of Damar Hamlin

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Damar Hamlin is removed from Paycor Stadium in an ambulance. The Buffalo Bills, in white, kneeling in prayer at the bottom left of the image.

On January 2, 2023, during the ongoing Week 17 game of the 2022 NFL season between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed with 5:58 left in the first quarter after tackling wide receiver Tee Higgins. Hamlin went into cardiac arrest near midfield at Paycor Stadium. CPR and defibrillation were administered before he was rushed to a local hospital.

Background

The game was started on January 2, 2023, on Monday Night Football in Week 17 of the 2022 NFL season. Entering the game the Bills were 12–3, and still fighting for the number 1 seed in the AFC, while the Bengals were 11–4 and still fighting to secure first place in the AFC North. With a win, the Bengals would have secured the division[1] and forced the Baltimore Ravens, who were already locked into the playoffs, into a wild card slot.[2][3] While not able to clinch the number 1 seed due to the Kansas City Chiefs winning the day prior,[4] a Bills win would move them back to first place in the AFC.[5][6][7]

The game was the only one in Week 17 where both teams had a winning record.[8]

Game before the incident

Game suspended
5:58 left in the first quarter
Score at the time of suspension
Buffalo Bills
(12–3)		 Cincinnati Bengals
(11–4)
3 7
Head coach:
Sean McDermott		 Head coach:
Zac Taylor
1234 Total
BUF 3--- 3
CIN 7--- 7
DateJanuary 2, 2023
StadiumPaycor Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

The Bengals received the opening kickoff and proceeded to march down the field. The drive was capped off with a 14-yard touchdown to Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd from quarterback Joe Burrow.[9] The Bills' first drive ended in the red zone, but resulted in a 25-yard Tyler Bass field goal.[10]

Incident

During the Bengals' second drive, Burrow found receiver Tee Higgins for a short gain. After making the tackle, Hamlin got up for a few seconds before collapsing.[11][12] As he remained motionless, team trainers and paramedics rushed to his side within seconds.[13] Hamlin was then placed on a stretcher and an ambulance came onto the field within minutes as most of the players from both teams came off the sidelines to kneel or stand around Hamlin. First responders initiated CPR and administered defibrillation to Hamlin on the field for 10 minutes.[14][15] Hamlin was also given oxygen, intubated, and administered an intravenous solution (IV).[14] At 9:12 p.m. EST, Damar left the field in the ambulance[16] and was transported to University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center by 9:30 pm.[17][16] where he was reported to be in critical condition,[18] having gone into cardiac arrest.[19][20]

At 9:14 p.m. the teams were told to begin warm ups as reported by ESPN, only for both head coaches to pull their players from the field minutes later. In accordance with the NFL's emergency-situation rules,[21] the game was suspended at 9:16 p.m. with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter. Both head coaches would meet again with the officials in the tunnels of the stadium after 9:29 pm. The game was officially postponed shortly after 10 pm, just over one hour after Hamlin collapsed.[22][23][24][20][16]

Television coverage

The game was aired on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes as part of ESPN's Monday Night Football coverage. Because of the threat of an overrun from the 2023 Rose Bowl airing immediately prior to the game on ESPN (and diversion of Megacast resources to that game), there was no Manningcast for this game on ESPN2.[25] Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were on the call of the game, Lisa Salters was the sideline reporter, while John Parry was the rules analyst.[26] Buck and Aikman were on the call for the initial incident, but coverage was quickly moved to ESPN's Monday Night Countdown studio team of Adam Schefter, Booger McFarland and Suzy Kolber.[27] Following the announcement of the game's suspension, coverage shifted to a special edition of SportsCenter hosted by Scott Van Pelt from Washington, D.C..[28][29][30]

ESPN was praised for its coverage of the incident.[31][32][33][34] Contributors Ryan Clark and Booger McFarland were specifically praised for their commentary.[32][34]

ESPN's coverage of the incident, on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, from 9 pm to 10:15 pm, which mostly featured coverage from the Monday Night Countdown crew, averaged 23.9 million viewers.[35] SportsCenter coverage, from 10:15 pm to 11 pm, on ESPN and ABC, averaged 14.3 million viewers.[36]

NFL criticism

The NFL was criticized for its reaction to the incident. Joe Buck initially reported on the broadcast that after the ambulance took Hamlin away, the NFL had told teams they had five minutes to prepare to resume playing. This decision was criticized immediately by commentators, but the NFL denied the report. The following day, Buck responded to the NFL and Vincent, and stood by the claim that he was told both teams had five minutes to warm-up before resuming the game.[37] A similar report regarding the players warming-up to resume play was aired on Westwood One.[38]

The NFL was also criticized for not immediately postponing the game following the incident. While teams were sent to the locker room quickly, the game was not officially postponed until over an hour after the incident.[39]

Aftermath

Hamlin was sedated and placed on a ventilator at University of Cincinnati Medical Center following the incident. Twenty four hours after the incident, his oxygen was reduced from 100% to 50%, but Hamlin was still unable to breathe on his own. Hamlin was also moved to his stomach to take pressure off his lungs.[40]

In the hours following the incident, fans donated over $3 million to a holiday toy drive Hamlin had established in 2020, which had an original target of $2,500 on GoFundMe.[41][42][43] Donations continued mounting, to almost surpass $7.5 million by Thursday evening.[44] At least one fraudulent campaign created after Hamlin's injury had to be taken down by GoFundMe.[45]

On January 3, the NFL announced that the game would not be completed that week, nor had they made any changes to the following week's schedule, the last of the regular season.[46] The only other option for resuming or replaying the contest would be to postpone part or all of the 2022–23 NFL playoffs and allow the Bills and Bengals to play or finish the game as a "Week 19" contest so to determine the final playoff seeding.[47] The league also has the option of declaring the game a "no contest" and proceeding as scheduled without finishing or replaying the game. Because of the playoff implications, between the Bills, Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs all competing for a first-round bye in the playoffs, the league is considering using a random draw to exclude one Chiefs contest from the record for purpose of putting the three teams on equal footing to determine the seeds.[48] The league is also considering using winning percentages, instead of records, to determine playoff seeding.[49]

Two days after the incident, in a Zoom call with the Bills on Wednesday, January 4, Damar Hamlin's father said that Hamlin was making progress.[50]

On January 5, Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam said that Hamlin was awake and doing better. The same day, the Bills released a statement saying "Damar has shown remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours" and "while still critically ill, he has demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact. His lungs continue to heal and he is making steady progress."[51] Hamlin's doctor said that Hamlin woke up, was able to follow commands and asked who won Monday night's game by communicating in writing. "When he asked, ‘Did we win?’ the answer is, ‘Yes, Damar, you won. You won the game of life," his doctor said.[52]

Reactions

Following the collapse, numerous NFL players and teams quickly offered their support and prayers on social media.[53] Tee Higgins offered his condolences to Hamlin's family, as did Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase and Penn State head coach James Franklin. The following day, all 32 NFL teams changed their profile pictures on Twitter to a picture of Hamlin's jersey and text that reads "Pray For Damar."[54][55] Fans began gathering outside the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center following his collapse. The lights on Paycor Stadium, the location of the game, were lit blue in honor of Hamlin.[56] The day after, the Washington Capitals held a moment of silence for Hamlin before their game against the Buffalo Sabres.[57]

Anti-vaxxers exploited the incident to spread misleading conspiracy theories through vaccine disinformation.[58][59][60][61][62] Doctors who had witnessed the incident on television speculated that it could have potentially been a rare condition in which a high impact to the chest at a specific time in the heartbeat cycle can cause a cardiac arrest.[63][64][65]

References

  1. ^ "Bengals Control AFC North Destiny, Will Clinch Second-Straight Division Crown With Win Over Bills". Sports Illustrated.
  2. ^ "The Breakdown: Five Thoughts on Loss to Steelers". baltimoreravens.com. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  3. ^ "Ravens vs. Steelers takeaways: Pittsburgh stays alive in playoff race thanks to Kenny Pickett's late heroics". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  4. ^ Dixon, John (January 2, 2023). "Chiefs Playoff Picture: It all comes down to Monday Night Football". Arrowhead Pride. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  5. ^ "Bills Path to No. 1 Seed Starts vs. Bengals on Monday Night Football". Sports Illustrated.
  6. ^ "Who to root for | Where the Bills stand in the AFC Playoff race for Week 17". buffalobills.com. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  7. ^ "NFL Week 17 winners and losers, plus breaking down the playoff picture and picks for Bills-Bengals showdown". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  8. ^ Smith, Coral (January 2, 2023). "2022 NFL season: Four things to watch for in Bills-Bengals game on 'Monday Night Football'". National Football League. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  9. ^ "Joe Burrow delivers a strike to Tyler Boyd for a 14-yard TD". National Football League. January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  10. ^ "Tyler Bass' 25-yard FG gets Bills on the board on 'MNF'". National Football League. January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  11. ^ Maiorana, Sal (January 2, 2023). "Who is Damar Hamlin, Bills player taken in ambulance on Monday Night Football?". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  12. ^ Farmer, Sam (January 2, 2023). "Bills safety Damar Hamlin in critical condition after receiving CPR on field". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  13. ^ Yeung, Jessie (January 2, 2023). "Live updates: NFL star Damar Hamlin in critical condition after Bills-Bengals game". CNN. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Planalp, Brian. "Bengals-Bills game suspended, Bills' Damar Hamlin in critical condition". Fox19 Now. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  15. ^ Morgan, Emmanuel. "Monday Night Football Game Postponed After Player Collapses on Field". The New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  16. ^ a b c Chappell, Bill (January 3, 2023). "The Bills-Bengals game looked like it might resume. Then the players left the field". NPR. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  17. ^ Sullivan, Tyler (January 2, 2023). "NFL postpones Bengals vs. Bills after Buffalo's Damar Hamlin collapses on field during 'Monday Night Football'". CBS Sports. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  18. ^ Planalp, Brian (January 2, 2023). "Bengals-Bills game suspended, Bills' Damar Hamlin in critical condition". WXIX. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  19. ^ Yeung, Jessie; Elamroussi, Aya; Federico O'Murchú, Sean (January 3, 2023). "BREAKING: Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and is in critical condition, Buffalo Bills say". CNN. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  20. ^ a b Sanchez, David Close,Ray (January 3, 2023). "A timeline of the NFL's response after Damar Hamlin collapsed". CNN. Retrieved January 6, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ "NFL Playing Rules, rule #17" (PDF). National Football League. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  22. ^ Clark, Dave. "Damar Hamlin suffers injury during Buffalo-Cincinnati first quarter". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  23. ^ "Buffalo Bills game postponed after safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field". WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  24. ^ Baker, Kendall (January 3, 2023). "NFL postpones Bills-Bengals game after Damar Hamlin collapses on field". Axios. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  25. ^ "ESPN's Monday Night Football Bills-Bengals Week 17 AFC Showdown Available on ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN+, and ESPN Deportes". ESPN. December 28, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  26. ^ "NFL announcers: Who is announcing Monday Night Football for Bills-Bengals in Week 17". Draft Kings. January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  27. ^ "Buffalo Bills News: MNF suspended after chilling Damar Hamlin injury". Buffalo Low Down. January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  28. ^ Deitsch, Richard. "Deitsch: On a horrific night for Damar Hamlin and the NFL, ESPN showed humanity". The Athletic. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  29. ^ Finn, Chad. "ESPN's Scott Van Pelt and Ryan Clark deftly handled the difficult Damar Hamlin story on air - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  30. ^ Clinkscales, Jason (January 3, 2023). "After Damar Hamlin collapse, ESPN made the best from a tough situation". Awful Announcing. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  31. ^ "ESPN praised for coverage of Bills' Damar Hamlin's medical emergency on Monday Night Football". The Star-Ledger. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  32. ^ a b "ESPN's Ryan Clark praised for 'empathy and humanity' in coverage of Damar Hamlin collapse". SportingNews.com. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  33. ^ "Ryan Clark said all there is to say about Damar Hamlin injury". fansided.com. January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  34. ^ a b "Booger McFarland throws shade at NFL in aftermath of Damar Hamlin situation". Larry Brown Sports. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  35. ^ "'Monday Night Football' telecast in which Hamlin collapsed was most watched in ESPN's history". CNN. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  36. ^ "Monday 1.2.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals UPDATED". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  37. ^ McGuire, Sean T. (January 3, 2023). "Joe Buck, ESPN Reiterate Stance On Since-Denied Damar Hamlin Report". NESN.com. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  38. ^ "Damar Hamlin update: Here's everything that's been reported on the Bills safety after collapse on the field". For The Win. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  39. ^ Darcy, Oliver (January 4, 2023). "ESPN stands by report that NFL planned to restart game after Hamlin collapsed | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  40. ^ "Damar Hamlin Update: Relative Says Breathing Has Improved for Bills Safety". NBC Philadelphia. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  41. ^ "A toy drive fundraiser set up by Hamlin surged past $3 million overnight". NBC News. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  42. ^ Salahieh, Chris Boyette,Nouran (January 3, 2023). "Damar Hamlin's toy drive fundraiser tops $3 million in donations in hours after his on-field collapse". CNN. Retrieved January 3, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  43. ^ "Fans flooded Damar Hamlin's toy drive charity with more than $3.5 million in donations". For The Win. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  44. ^ Walsh, Erin. "Sarah Taylor, Wife of Bengals' Zac Taylor, Leads Effort to Send Cards to Damar Hamlin". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  45. ^ "Damar Hamlin fundraiser: What's real and how to spot a scam". king5.com. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  46. ^ "NFL announces Bills-Bengals game will not be resumed this week". National Football League. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  47. ^ "NFL insider reveals options league is considering for Bengals-Bills resumption". FanSided. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  48. ^ Grathoff, Pete (January 4, 2023). "NFL reporter says league may not count a Chiefs game when determining playoff seeding". Kansas City Star. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  49. ^ Florio, Mike (January 4, 2023). "Momentum builds for cancellation of Bills-Bengals game". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  50. ^ David Smith, Michael (January 5, 2023). "Damar Hamlin's father addressed Bills, told them Damar is making progress". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  51. ^ Duke, Adam (January 5, 2023). "Bills CB: Damar Hamlin awake at hospital". WIVB. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  52. ^ Sangal, Aditi; Vogt, Adrienne; Vales, Leinz; Meyer, Matt (January 5, 2023). "Live updates: Latest on Damar Hamlin's condition". CNN. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  53. ^ "NFL, sports world reaction to injury to Bills' Damar Hamlin". AP News. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  54. ^ Audilet, Matt. "Look: Every NFL Team Has 3-Word Message On Tuesday". The Spun. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  55. ^ Forde, Mitchell. "Look: NFL Teams Unite To Spread Powerful Message For Damar Hamlin". Athlon Sports. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  56. ^ "Bills vs. Bengals game postponed, Damar Hamlin in critical condition following collapse". The Athletic. January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  57. ^ "'Love for 3': Sabres, Capitals keep Bills' Hamlin in thoughts at NHL game". Sportsnet. January 3, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  58. ^ Ecarma, Caleb (January 3, 2023). "Right-Wingers Are Exploiting Damar Hamlin's Medical Emergency to Push Anti-Vax Conspiracies". Vanity Fair. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  59. ^ L'Oreal, Thompson Payton (January 3, 2023). "Blaming Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest on the COVID vaccine is "wildly and irresponsibly speculative," says expert". Fortune. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  60. ^ "Doyel: Don't let anti-vaxxers lie to you about Damar Hamlin like they did with Bert Smith". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  61. ^ Lee, Bruce Y. "Anti-Vaxxers Exploit Damar Hamlin's Crisis With Unfounded Covid-19 Vaccine Claims". Forbes. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  62. ^ "They died suddenly - then the anti-vax trolling started". BBC News. November 23, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  63. ^ Treisman, Rachel (January 3, 2023). "Did Damar Hamlin experience commotio cordis? What to know about the rare phenomenon". NPR. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  64. ^ "Demar Hamlin might have had the type of heart attack that only happens 'probably 20 times a year'". Fortune. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  65. ^ DeLetter, Natalie Neysa Alund and Emily. "What is cardiac arrest? What to know after Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin's hospitalization". USA Today. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
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