The family of Buffalo Bills defender Damar Hamlin has asked any criticism of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins to stop.
Higgins was the ball-carrier on the collision with Hamlin, a routine football play without any wrongdoing before the tragic results.
In an interview with Rachel Hopmayer of Spectrum News 1, Jordon Rooney, close friend and marketing rep of Hamlin, has said the family wants any criticism of Higgins stop:
“…they were mad. They were frustrated. If you think you’re supporting Damar by bashing Tee, you’re not supporting Damar. …They don’t agree with anything that’s being said. It was a freak football accident that could have happened with anyone at any time. Tee has reached out. He has went above and beyond. All signs point to him being a great human being who genuinely cares and feels bad. The family feels bad that Tee would have any guilt towards this situation.”
“If you think you’re support Damar by bashing Tee (@teehiggins5), you’re not supporting Damar” — @jordonr
Just caught up with #Bills Damar Hamlin’s close friend and marketing rep outside UCMC. He also clarified that it was a misunderstanding that Hamlin was resuscitated twice. pic.twitter.com/lrvdvVxbSp
— Rachel Hopmayer (@rachelhopmayer) January 4, 2023
ESPN’s Coley Harvey said Hamlin’s father wants the criticism of Higgins to end:
Will have much more on @espn throughout the morning/day. (We recorded an interview) But two other comments to look for from him: Damar’s father is among those calling for any criticisms of Bengals WR Tee Higgins (who was part of the play Damar was injured on) to STOP.
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) January 4, 2023
In the days after the postponed game, Higgins has been on the receiving end of preposterous criticisms from a small segment of fans on social media and the likes of on-air personalities like Bart Scott despite no ill intent or infractions on a normal-looking play.
The criticisms come at a time when Higgins is positioned to take the incident harder than most given his involvement on the play. He also got to know Hamlin personally over the summer at football camps thanks to the Bills defender’s local ties with fellow wideout Tyler Boyd. It’s a brutally unfortunate situation before any unwarranted outside noise from people not involved.
As of this writing, Hamlin remains in critical condition but with some recent positive updates about his status.
