Damar Hamlin’s friend and marketing representative says the collapsed NFL star’s “vitals are back to normal”, but the player is still fighting for life.
The 24-year-old Buffalo Bills NFL defender completed a tackle in the first quarter of his side’s clash with the Cincinnati Bengals and returned to his feet before almost immediately collapsing backwards in the middle of the field.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Former NFL star delivers a powerful speech about Damar Hamlin.
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Cincinatti’s stadium stood in shock and silence as an ambulance arrived and responders treated the 24-year-old.
The game was abandoned with Hamlin taken to hospital, where he remains fighting for life. Fans from both teams have gathered outside the hospital, praying for his health.
Hamlin’s friend and marketing representative, Jordon Rooney, released a statement on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon (AEDT) with an update on his heath.
“His vitals are back to normal and they have put him to sleep to put a breathing tube down his throat,” he wrote.
“They are currently running tests. We will provide updates as we have them.”
Ryan Clark, who played the same position as Hamlin during his NFL career before becoming an ESPN commentator, suffered a similarly chilling incident in 2007 when an acute, debilitating pain in his left side threatened to take his life.
Genetic complications meant Clark was forced to undergo emergency surgery to remove his spleen and gall bladder, which ended his season.
He spoke candidly to SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt about his perspective of Hamlin’s current plight, given the fact it is dissimilar to his own ordeal in 2007.
“The first thing – this is about Damar Hamlin, it‘s about a young man at 24 years old who was living his dream,” Clark said on ESPN.
“A few hours ago he was getting ready to play the biggest game of his NFL career and there was probably nowhere else in the world that he wanted to be. Now, he fights for his life.
“When Damar Hamlin falls to the turf and when you see the medical staff rush to the field and both teams are on the field you realise this isn’t normal. You realise this isn’t just football.
“So many times in this game and our job as well, we use the cliches: ‘I’m ready to die for this, I’m willing to give my life for this, it’s time to go to war’. I think sometimes we use those things so much we forget part of living this dream is putting your life at risk.
“Tonight we got to see a side of football that is extremely ugly, a side of football that no one ever wants to see or never wants to admit exists. When you see both teams on the field crying in that way, your first thought is Damar Hamlin, the second thought is his family.
“This isn’t about a football player. This is about a human. This is about a brother. This is about a son. This is about a friend. This is about someone who is loved by so many that have to watch you go through this.
“I dealt with this before and I watched my teammates, for days, come to my hospital bed for days and just cry.
“I had them call me and tell me they didn’t think I was going to make it, and now this team has to deal with that and they have no answers.
“So, I think the next time we get upset at our favourite fantasy player or we’re upset that the guy on our team doesn’t make the play and we’re saying he’s worthless and you get to make all this money, we should remember these men are putting their lives on the line to live their dream and tonight Damar Hamlin’s dream became a nightmare for not only himself but his family, his entire team.”
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