Game Day with Kevin Modesti – Damar Hamlin: What we know

It had been an enjoyable weekend of football and sports, but all of that seems secondary as Hamlin remains in a Cincinnati hospital.

Editor’s note: This is the Tuesday, January 3, edition of the “Game Day with Kevin Modesti” newsletter. To receive the newsletter in your inbox, sign up here.

Good morning. As this newsletter is sent, there’s a lot that football fans don’t know for sure about what happened to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. But what we saw with our own eyes on Monday Night Football is upsetting.

The most authoritative-sounding statement remains the one posted by the Bills just before 11 p.m. Pacific time: “Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the (Cincinnati) Bengals. His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.”

The Associated Press’ story, updated this morning, said Hamlin remains in critical condition.

It’s only responsible to wait for whatever further facts are to come – from medical professionals who attended to Hamlin, from his family, from the team, from the NFL, from reporters looking behind the scenes – before drawing conclusions about what caused the 24-year-old player to collapse after tackling Bengals receiver Tee Higgins following a pass completion in the first quarter of the game between division leaders.

Was this a case – as described by medical experts on what I thought was generally excellent, properly restrained coverage by ESPN and cable TV networks – of a man’s heart stopping because a blow to the chest disrupted its natural rhythm?

Was Hamlin particularly at risk, or is this something that could happen to any football player, or is it something that could happen to anybody in any sport or other activity that involves collisions?

What went into the league’s decision to suspend the game and when to make that announcement, which came about an hour after Hamlin went down?

At this point, the vast majority of us don’t even know what we don’t know. Which makes it too soon to draw conclusions about what the emergency says for football safety and the NFL’s response to the particular incident.

What TV viewers saw was enough to give the impression that Hamlin received fast and full emergency care on the field.

Also, enough to show, in the emotion of players and coaches from both the Bills and the Bengals, a healthy brotherhood of athletes in a sport that does present more physical risks than most.

The events were shocking even though nobody who grasps the speed and ferocity of NFL action can ever be surprised by a serious, even life-threatening injury. The scenes were frightening in part because the collision between Hamlin and Higgins appeared so not frightening at first, the kind that seemingly could happen on any play. The concern for Hamlin was real despite – or maybe because of – the fact he’s not a star but an NFL everyman.

It appears the one game Hamlin, a sixth-round draft pick in 2021 from Pitt, has played in the Los Angeles area was the Bills’ victory over the Rams at SoFi Stadium in the 2022 season opener in September. He didn’t start, and his contribution was mostly on special teams, where he made tackles on two of the Rams’ four kickoff returns. Last night I looked at the play-by-play notes I took on that game from the press box. They make only the most basic mention of those routine kick returns and no mention of Hamlin.

Now he’s the football player on everybody’s mind.

Sports fans have seen cardiac issues before. Chuck Hughes, of the Detroit Lions, was the only NFL player to die on the field during a game (in 1971). Hank Gathers, the Loyola Marymount basketball star, died after collapsing during a game in 1990. Soccer’s Christian Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest while playing for Denmark in the European Championship in 2021 but recovered and still plays. Hockey’s Jay Bouwmeester suffered cardiac arrest on the bench in 2020 but survived. In the incident that may – may – be most similar to Hamlin’s, hockey’s Chris Pronger collapsed on the ice after his heart was knocked out of rhythm by a puck to the chest in 1998; he played another decade in the NHL.

We’ve seen cardiac issues before, but never as we did this time, live on Monday Night Football, knowing only enough to fear the worst.

It had been a big, enjoyable holiday Monday in football and other sports.

USC lost the Cotton Bowl 46-45 as Tulane pulled off a 16-point rally in the last five minutes. Penn State won the Rose Bowl 35-21 after Utah quarterback Cam Rising suffered a leg injury. Columnist Jim Alexander wondered if it’s the last time the Rose Bowl feels special. The Lakers and LeBron James (43 points) beat the Hornets to close out a winning trip. The Clippers, without Kawhi Leonard, lost to the Heat. The Ducks’ long homestand got worse in a loss to the Flyers. And the Chargers looked ahead to trying to move up to No. 5 playoff seed by beating the Broncos.

All of that seems secondary as Damar Hamlin remains in a Cincinnati hospital.

Keep checking the SCNG papers’ websites for further reporting and commentary.

TODAY

• Kings meet the Central Division-leading Dallas Stars at Crypto.com Arena (7 p.m., ESPN). Preview.

1,000 WORDS

Common ground: Head coaches Zac Taylor of the Cincinnati Bengals, in black, and Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills, in blue, come together to discuss the suspension of last night’s game in Cincinnati as Bills safety Damar Hamlin was being treated after collapsing on the field. Photo is by Dylan Buell for Getty Images.

LET’S TALK

Thanks for reading the newsletter. Send suggestions, comments and questions by email at [email protected] and via Twitter @KevinModesti.

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