Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field, was administered CPR by medical professionals and put into an ambulance and rushed to an area hospital in one of the scariest on-field scenes in NFL history during a “Monday Night Football” game in Cincinnati.
Hamlin, 24, suffered cardiac arrest and is in critical condition, according to a statement from the Bills late Monday night.
“His vitals are back to normal and they have put him to sleep to put a breathing tube down his throat,” Jordon Rooney, Hamlin’s marketing representative at Jaster Athletes, wrote on Twitter in an update about an hour after the league’s statement. “They are currently running tests. We will provide updates as we have them.”
A hospital spokesperson canceled a news conference, originally scheduled for around 11 p.m. Monday, according to multiple reports. Hamlin’s agent, Ira Turner of Agency 1 Sports, released a statement asking to “please continue to pray for Damar and his family.”
Hamlin and his mother, who was watching from the stands, were taken two miles away to the University of Cincinnati Level I trauma center in what was treated as a life-or-death emergency. The ambulance left Paycor Stadium about 30 minutes after the emergency began when Hamlin made a first-quarter tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins but appeared to take the brunt of the hit.
Hamlin hopped to his feet and adjusted his facemask but almost immediately fell onto his back.
“Something we haven’t seen in our time,” NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent, a former 15-year player, said in a midnight conference call. He said many on site were “traumatized.”
The crowd and the television audience held its collective breath waiting for the universal sign to exhale — a thumbs-up from an NFL player loaded onto a stretcher, even used in cases of paralysis to show that the player can communicate. It never happened.
The game was suspended with the Bengals leading, 7-3, after a temporary delay of more than an hour. The ESPN broadcast relayed to viewers that players initially were given a five-minute warm-up period before resuming play, but Vincent, who was in contact with “devastated” commissioner Roger Goodell, denied that such a scenario was ever discussed.
“Never crossed my mind to talk about warming up to resume play,” Vincent said. “That’s ridiculous, insensitive and not a place we should ever be in.”
Vincent said that the Bills planned to fly home Tuesday morning but some players were staying behind to be near Hamlin.
“The thoughts and prayers of all of Bills Mafia are supporting you, Damar,” the Bills wrote on their official Twitter account.
Hundreds of NFL players, including former teammates of Hamlin’s in Buffalo and at the University of Pittsburgh, took to social media to share prayers.
“Damar Hamlin is the best of us,” Pitt football tweeted. “We love you, 3. Praying for you.”
Some players surrounded Hamlin as medical professionals assisted with his breathing. Others turned away from the chilling scene and sobbed openly or into towels. The Bills gathered on one knee to say a prayer around McDermott as the ambulance pulled away from midfield.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen cupped his hands over his mouth in a prayer gesture and later hugged his counterpart Joe Burrow in what was an example of the united front. Players from both teams built a human wall as if to protect Hamlin’s privacy in his most dire moment.
Vincent credited the leadership with emotions running high of Bengals coach Zac Taylor and Bills coach Sean McDermott, who clearly did not want their teams to resume play. The crowd broke the silence to applaud the visiting Bills in a show of emotional support as teams headed back to their respective locker rooms.
NFL executives declined comment out of respect to Hamlin’s condition when asked for a plan on when the game between two teams battling for the No. 1 seed in the AFC will be resumed.
