Damar Hamlin's Injury.

Pop Culture | Max Choung | January 23rd, 2023.

On January 2, 2023, tragedy struck the NFL as 24- year-old NFL safety Damar Hamlin suffered from cardiac arrest on the field and collapsed, requiring CPR. The entirety of the Paycor Stadium fell silent as team trainers worked to restore Hamlin’s heartbeat for several minutes. Hamlin received oxygen before being taken off the field in an ambulance and transported to a Cincinnati Hospital. After discussion between the Bills and Bengals, the game was called off and canceled. Hamlin spent the night in critical condition, with no guarantees on if he would survive. The sports world waited for news or updates on Hamlin’s condition.

As news spread, support began to flood in, with fans beginning to donate to Hamlin’s charity foundation, The Chasing M’s Foundation. Within less than a week, the charity surpassed $8 million in donations. Every NFL team changed their Twitter profile picture to “Pray for Damar” with his number 3 centered as its logo. 

As days passed, more and more positive news began to surface about Hamlin. Hamlin began to breathe on his own, and finally, Damar Hamlin regained consciousness. Immediately after, Hamlin asked, “Did we win?” referring to the Bills-Bengals game. The doctors responded with, “You won. You won the game of life.” On January 8, the Bills returned to play against the New England Patriots, with only one day of practice to prepare for this game. Hamlin watched from his hospital bed as on the opening play, Nyheim Hines returned a kickoff for a touchdown. The Bills won this game, but more importantly, Damar Hamlin won the battle for his life. Recently, Hamlin’s situation continued to improve, as he returned home after being released from the hospital. This Sunday, January 22, 2023, the entire Highmark Stadium erupted in cheers as Damar Hamlin came to watch his Bills play in the playoffs, only 3 weeks after his collapse.