EA Sports are in the process of removing a celebration from the latest installment of the 'Madden' series after Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field last week.
On Madden 23, a celebration can be used by players of a player receiving CPR after scoring a touchdown or making an interception or turnover. The celebration went viral in light of last week's horrific scenes at the Paycor Stadium.
TMZ Sports have claimed that the celebration will be removed from the game, after Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field of play and needed CPR as well as a defibrillator to revive him and regain a pulse, before he was transferred to the hospital for further medical procedures to save his life.
And with the celebration now being seen as insensitive, EA are said to be in the process of removing it, with the hope that it will be gone in the next few days with an update sent to it's players. It comes just days after Pittsburgh Steelers defensive players Alex Highsmith and DeMarvin Leal came under criticism as they used the celebration, less than a week after Hamlin's incident.
Highsmith apologised for the celebration, stating he did not mean to do it intentionally nor did he mean any offense, whilst sending his prayers for Hamlin. Since Thursday, the updates on the Buffalo Bills safety Hamlin have been resoundingly positive, after he woke up 48 hours after the incident and begun communicating.
The following day, he was able to breathe without the use of a tube, and could verbally communicate with his parents and doctors before eventually FaceTiming his teammates. And on Monday, one week after almost losing his life on the field, Hamlin was discharged from hospital in Cincinnati, where he is expected to return to Buffalo.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Hamlin will now head to another hospital where he will continue to undergo tests and be monitored. Regardless, news of his recovery is truly incredible just seven days after he had to be revived on the turf against the Bengals.
Hamlin tweeted: "Headed home to Buffalo today with a lot of love on my heart. Watching the world come together around me on Sunday was truly an amazing feeling. The same love you all have shown me is the same love that I plan to put back into the world n more. Bigger than football!”
The Bills secured the number two seed after a heartfelt win over the New England Patriots, when they scored on the first play of the game as Nyheim Hines returned a kick-off for a touchdown which was dedicated to Hamlin - the first play since the scary incident.
The Bills will play the Miami Dolphins in Buffalo, with Hamlin just a few miles away at Buffalo General Medical Center.
