Did the NFL Handle Damar Hamlin's Situation Correctly?

Vendors Russell Adams, John Hagan and Donald Morris chat about the world of sports with Executive Assistant Patrick Edwards.

John: We want to discuss the unfortunate situation with 24-year-old Damar Hamlin, a safety for the Buffalo Bills. On January 2, Damar had a heart attack following a seemingly routine tackle of Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver Tee Higgins. Damar stood up, took two steps, then collapsed.

Russ: The man died on the field. Wow…

John: He did. They administered CPR, and he was revived. They, then, took him to the hospital, where they had to revive him yet again. But he’s alive and doing well now.

Patrick: Sounds like a “however” is coming…

John: You’re right. The NFL handled the situation poorly. Now, there seems to be a consensus with everyone around the world that initially postponing the game was the right thing to do. I mean, the man literally died. However, the proper way to have handled the situation from beginning to end would have been for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell—ASAP—to get on the phone with both the head coaches and ask if they wanted to continue.

Donald: Most likely, both would have agreed to postpone the game immediately.

Russ: Right.

John: At that moment, the announcer of the news would have announced that the game was being postponed so that instead of having players and coaches and fans believing the game might continue wouldn’t have had to last over an hour. This is where I believe the NFL dropped the ball.

Russ: Before adding my two cents, let me first send prayers to Hamlin’s family and friends, teammates, and the entire sports world. This hit everyone hard. So, let’s all pray for this young man who has pulled through, since our discussion, but before this issue hit the stands.

Patrick: Hit the hands.

Russ: Huh? Ohhh… you stoopid, man!

Patrick: Sending good vibes myself as well.

Russ: I’m with you, John, about the NFL dropping the ball with the whole not making a decision quickly. It was very good seeing the players hugging each other—not just with their own teammates— and, especially, once he’d been revived. At that moment, each coach should have, simply, walked his respective team to the locker room, which would have made the decision for the NFL.

Donald: Even as a huge fan, I didn’t want to watch anymore; shoot, couldn’t watch even if I wanted to…so I can only imagine how it would’ve been for the players to get back there and continue to play as if a teammate—a friend—hadn’t just died on the field.

Patrick: The underlying issue with all of this is that football is a brutal sport. It is. I mean, I love to watch it. Shoot, can’t imagine not watching the Bears at noon on Sundays during the season for the rest of my life. However, it, to me, is like boxing, or a gaper’s delay-sorta thing: We watch it, but we kinda know we shouldn’t be so interested to actually get to see anything. "It can’t be right," is what we think. At least that’s what I think. But it don’t stop me from watching.

John: All those sports are brutal, but, like you, I’m watching. That said, the game was cancelled completely, which threw the playoffs seeding into a tizzy. But, in the total overall of this, this is so not that important. That this young man—whose health has progressively gotten better—is able to still smell the flowers and, possibly one day, bring forth new life into the world, this is where it’s at.

Any comments or suggestions? Email pedwards@streetwise.org