The Buffalo Bills announced the severity of the on-field incident regarding safety Damar Hamlin. In the first quarter of the Bills’ Monday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Hamlin was injured following a tackle of Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. He stood up after the play and then fell to the ground.
Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the Bengals. His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 3, 2023
The game was first temporarily suspended, then postponed.
“Medical advice guided our decision,” NFL Chief Football Administrative Officer Dawn Aponte told reporters on a conference call that took place after midnight EST. “We remained in constant communication with both teams, medical personnel, game officials and ownership. We made decisions that we believed to be in the best interest of Damar’s status and the state of both teams – players and staffs. There couldn’t have been more collaboration throughout this process by all parties.”
NFL VP of Football Operations Troy Vincent, who played in the NFL from 1992-2006, including three seasons with the Bills, further explained the process.
“Neither coach frankly was talking about resuming play and the players weren’t… It was really about Damar,” Vincent said. “I’ve never seen anything like it since I’ve been playing. So immediately my player hat came on. How do you resume play after you seen such a traumatic event occur in front of you in real time. And that’s the way we were thinking about it. The commissioner and I and others.”
NFL Vice President of communications, public affairs and policy Jeff Miller said that re-scheduling the game is not yet in consideration.
“Our concern is with the player and his wellbeing. At the appropriate time I’m sure we’ll have a conversation around the next steps regarding the game.”
