New York State In-depth

Cincinnati, Buffalo canceled the game Monday night that the NFL wanted to resume

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

A Monday night report from ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. examines the decision to halt last Monday’s game between the Buffalo Bills and Bengals in Cincinnati after defenseman Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and Bills coach Denny Kellington needed a CPR .

Van Natta quoted a team official as saying: “The league did not cancel the game. The Bills and the Bengals canceled the game.”

An excerpt from Van Natta’s story:

(NFL Commissioner Roger) Goodell might have heard that final decision, but the first instinct not to play came on the field in Cincinnati.

“The ambulance left the field… and it was clear to everyone that we couldn’t play,” said the top team official. (Chief Football Administrative Officer Dawn) Aponte spoke constantly to NFL executives in New York and coaches and officials at the game. “The only chaos came… from the command center.”

The NFL’s longest-serving command center executive was (Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy) Vincent, who oversaw on-field staff and others in communicating with broadcast partners. On a conference call hours after the game was suspended, Vincent adamantly denied reports on ESPN’s broadcast that the game would resume after a five-minute warm-up.

“And I was the one… communicating with the commissioner,” Vincent said. “Honestly, it never occurred to us to talk about warming up to get back into the game. That’s ridiculous. That’s insensitive and that’s not a place we should ever be.”

During a press conference last Wednesday, an outraged Vincent almost cried as he reiterated that the league never intended to resume play. Any other suggestion, he said, was “insensitive and frankly there was a lack of both empathy and compassion for Damar’s situation”.

Vincent said he is in constant communication with stadium staff.

“My mic was completely open talking to (official) Shawn [Smith] and at this time, I’m the central resource,” said Vincent [or] Provide instructions on how to get players ready to play.”

The team official blamed Vincent for the league’s wobbling.

“The league is screwing up this shit because Troy Vincent is screwing up this thing,” the official said. “This is the wrong person in the wrong position at the absolutely wrong time. … He wants to be the hero, but he will never take responsibility. He is down to the last detail.”

The Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway wrote about the game’s postponement last week.

“Together, both teams made the decision to postpone the game,” Conway wrote. “At that point, the league was informed of the teams’ decision.”

Hamlin spent several days recovering at UC Medical Center. He was released Monday and transferred to a Buffalo hospital.

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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: ESPN report: Cincinnati, Buffalo canceled game the NFL wanted to resume

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