There was hardly a dry eye in the house when Bills safety Damar Hamlin took the stage at Wednesday’s ESPYs to present the Pat Tillman Award for Service to Buffalo’s training staff.
The Bills training staff conducted CPR on Hamlin on Jan. 2 during the team’s game against the Bengals when he went into cardiac arrest. Hamlin remained in the hospital for over a week before he was released.
Since the traumatic night, he has since been cleared to return to football activities, and he returned to practice in May.
Because of the training staff’s key role in saving Hamlin’s life, it seemed appropriate for the group to receive the award from Hamlin himself.
Hamlin couldn’t help but shed a few tears when announcing the award. The training staff circled Hamlin to hug him after the emotional moment. The crowd at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles also gave Hamlin and the staff a standing ovation.
The clip of the moment went viral on social media as fans couldn’t help but celebrate the inspiring moment. Here are some of the best reactions.
So much love in the world https://t.co/dNW8C21ga1
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) July 13, 2023
Beyond awesome. Beyond deserved. https://t.co/kZUefYxKyf
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) July 13, 2023
The onions… they got me! https://t.co/yw9nijr01r
— Lily Zhao (@LilySZhao) July 13, 2023
No words. This is just special. https://t.co/qHuXHvHTmW
— Jarrett Bailey (@JBaileyNFL) July 13, 2023
So we’re just cutting onions without permission??? https://t.co/LJ0sNUFMK5
— Full-Time Dame 💰 (@DP_NFL) July 13, 2023
Man what a moment 🥹 https://t.co/eYRNCSEvwW
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) July 13, 2023
Not me watering up. I think we all forgot that this man almost lost his life.
— Raquel 🫶🏾 (@SOULbeautifulme) July 13, 2023
This was beautiful & Hamlin being so emotional is amazing to see from a man https://t.co/t25nfybDZe
This was a truly beautiful moment. 🙏 https://t.co/bps8ia5B0w
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) July 13, 2023
This isn’t the first time the Bills training staff received much-deserved praise. Hamlin and the training staff were honored before Super Bowl LVII in February at Glendale, Ariz.
