Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s recovery was heading in a “positive direction,” as of Wednesday afternoon, according to his friend and marketing manager.
Jordon Rooney, the CEO of Jaster Athletes who spoke to The Athletic on behalf of Hamlin’s family, offered an encouraging update.
“They feel good about the progress,” Rooney said. “They’ve had positive progress up to this point. They feel like they’re taking steps in the right direction.”
Hamlin remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit with signs of improvement noted Tuesday and overnight into Wednesday, according to the Buffalo Bills. Hamlin, 24, collapsed and went into cardiac arrest on the field Monday night in the first quarter against the Bengals. He needed to be resuscitated once, according to Rooney.
Damar remains in the ICU in critical condition with signs of improvement noted yesterday and overnight.
He is expected to remain under intensive care as his health care team continues to monitor and treat him.
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 4, 2023
There’s still no timeline for Hamlin as he fights to recover. Rooney said they’re taking things “day by day, hour by hour.”
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Rooney said of the last two days. “Just so much uncertainty, even just knowing what exactly happened. That makes it hard. We don’t really even know what happened specifically. A lot of it has just been gathering what’s in front of us, what we’re hearing. A lot of people have faith in Damar. A lot of people have confidence in his ability to overcome.”
Hamlin’s family and Rooney have been blown away by the outpouring of support from the NFL community and on social media. After the game was suspended Monday night, Bills receiver Stefon Diggs and Bengals coach Zac Taylor were among those who were spotted at the hospital. There have been many others, but Rooney said those visitors wished to remain unidentified.
President Joe Biden also told reporters Wednesday he had spoken “at length” with Hamlin’s parents.
“I think what it really shows, part of it is this societal shift we’re seeing when it comes to athletes,” Rooney said. “For so long, they’ve been viewed just as physical specimens or objects of entertainment. Now, we’re starting to see really the humanizing of athletes. Athletes are using their platforms for good.
“To be honest, there are tons of players who deserve a platform. Damar is definitely one of them. Seeing all of the support, all of the people rallying around these football players as human beings, it’s a great sign, and Damar is the perfect person to spearhead those efforts in continuing to push the charge for athletes in general to be ushers of social change.”
Notably, Hamlin’s Chasing M’s Foundation has come into focus. Hamlin started a toy drive through GoFundMe in 2020 with the goal to raise $2,500. It has since surpassed $6.5 million in donations over the past two days.
“In developing Damar’s foundation, we did not expect to have a budget this big,” Rooney said. “I have nonprofit experience. We have a few different foundation experts who have offered to lend their help. For us, it’s just a matter of getting Damar healthy. Once he’s healthy, then we will put together a long-term plan of how we will use this money and have the largest impact possible. His mission with Chasing M’s is he is basically supporting young people following their dreams.”
The NFL still remains unsure of how it will handle resuming the game between the Bengals and Bills, league officials said Wednesday. The determination has been made that the game will not be resumed this week, but otherwise, “everything is being considered,” NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said on a conference call with reporters.
In the last two days, Vincent said the league’s focus has centered completely on “the health and well-being of Damar first and foremost,” and secondly, supporting the Bills and Bengals coaching staffs and players and making sure they have the resources necessary to ensure optimal mental health.
Vincent said that preliminary discussions of the scenarios about how to handle the game have only just begun and will continue in the coming hours and days. Cincinnati will play the Ravens on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, the league announced Wednesday.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Wednesday the team is focused on preparing for Baltimore while also offering support to players.
“You have to move forward as a team because we do have a game Sunday, and we have to focus on that,” he said. “But you don’t have to move past the situation and we can still provide support for players.”
(Photo: Bryan Bennett / Getty Images)