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Who is Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills player who collapsed at Monday’s game? : NPR

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, pictured after a game in January 2022, is in critical condition after suffering a cardiac arrest Monday night. Hide caption Adrian Kraus/AP

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Adrian Kraus/AP

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, pictured after a game in January 2022, is in critical condition after suffering a cardiac arrest Monday night.

Adrian Kraus/AP

Players, coaches and football fans are eagerly awaiting news about Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin, who suffered cardiac arrest during Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Hamlin’s heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he was sedated and in critical condition early Tuesday morning.

Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is in critical condition after collapsing in a game

The 24-year-old’s collapse – which happened in the first quarter after colliding with a Bengals player – brought the game to a rare early halt and left spectators on and off the field distraught.

Players, teams and athletes from football and other sports have flooded social media with tributes and prayers. Among them is his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, where he played for his hometown for five years before joining the NFL in 2021.

“Damar Hamlin is the best of us,” the Pitt Football account tweeted.

Draw his way from Pittsburgh

Hamlin grew up playing football and basketball in McKees Rocks, a neighborhood in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area of ​​western Pennsylvania.

Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills NFL football team pictured in June 2022. Hide AP caption

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AP

Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills NFL football team pictured in June 2022.

AP

He made a name for himself in high school, leading his team to a 15-1 record, a WPIAL-class AAAA championship and a PIAA state title in his senior year. Recruitment sites Rivals and 247Sports named Hamlin the top-rated defensive player in Pennsylvania, and several Division 1 football schools tracked him.

But staying close to home was an easy decision, Hamlin told the Point Park Globe last year.

“I was just so Pittsburgh. Everything was Pittsburgh to me,” he said. “I wanted to give my city the right to show off, bring something to my city, and just give the city another reason to smile.”

Tributes are pouring in for Damar Hamlin from across the sporting world

Hamlin’s junior season was his first full season in college football due to injuries, but he would start in 36 of his last 38 games, Athletic reports. In his senior season, he was named captain by his teammates and earned a spot on both the All-ACC second team and the Reese’s Senior Bowl All-Star Game.

He drafted for the 2021 NFL Draft and was selected by the Bills in the sixth round.

Show up as a team leader

Hamlin played sparingly in his first pro season as a rookie, but took over as starting safety in September after teammate Micah Hyde suffered a neck injury.

He has played in all 15 games so far and has 91 tackles (second-best on the Bills), six tackles for losses, two pass separations and 1.5 sacks this season.

Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazer recently praised Hamlin’s development over the course of this season, ESPN reports, “including noting that he’s risen more as a squad leader and improved as a tackler in recent weeks, with a lot of plates being thrown at him quickly.” , after he had to fill in for Hyde.”

Hyde wasn’t the only Bills player to be injured in that particular game. Dane Jackson – Hamlin’s childhood friend and college teammate at Pitt – was taken off the field in an ambulance after suffering a neck injury. He returned to the field after missing a game.

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Hamlin spoke about Jackson’s injury – and the opportunity to play football, particularly with a close friend – during an appearance on One Bills Live earlier this season in a video clip that has since resurfaced on social media.

“I can’t even describe it, but I cherish every second that I can,” Hamlin said. “Every second day. We just had our prayer, our DB prayer, which we do every Wednesday. He was next to me and I just gripped his hand a little tighter just because you know you never know when your last day might be like you’re allowed to experience. I enjoy every moment I can.”

Keeps his community close

Hamlin is close to his family, according to himself and those of journalists who have reported on him in the past.

In a clip of an interview shared by FOX Sports reporter Henry McKenna, Hamlin says he’s “big on in my family unit.”

“My mum, my dad, my little brother, that’s pretty much my whole world apart from everything else that’s going on. My life revolves around her,” he said. “I don’t really do much without Mom and Dad’s opinion. Whether I take it or not… sometimes I just want to hear it.”

Tributes are pouring in for Damar Hamlin from across the sporting world

Years earlier, Hamlin told the Globe that he wanted to stay in Pittsburgh for college, in part to be a role model for his then-two-year-old brother, citing his parents as his personal role models.

In an interview with The Buffalo News just before the Bills played the Pittsburgh Steelers in October, Hamlin said he expects a good turnout from family and friends — except for his father, who coaches his little brother’s team and stayed behind for the playoffs .

Buffalo News reporter Katherine Fitzgerald tweeted excerpts of the story Tuesday.

Wanted to share a few things about Damar Hamlin from coverage of him to tell you all more about him.
We chatted for a while before Bills played the Steelers in October since he’s from Pittsburgh. He’s so close to his family, so I asked who’s coming to Buffalo for this. Wasn’t expecting this: pic.twitter.com/1rE2cuyqdl

— Katherine Fitzgerald (@kfitz134) January 3, 2023

Pittsburgh sportswriter Amanda Godsey tweeted Monday night that her thoughts went straight to Hamlin’s family after seeing him collapse, recalling he appeared close to his parents and his brother on his lap during a media session several years ago had.

When I saw Damar Hamlin collapse, my first thought was of his family. Appears to be very close to his parents and I found this photo from 2019 of his little brother sitting on his lap during a post-game media session.

Pray for Damar and his family. pic.twitter.com/vZznGC6UKT

— Amanda Godsey (@AmandaFGodsey) January 3, 2023

Several sports-related social media accounts shared a clip of the athlete hugging family members on the sidelines ahead of Monday’s game.

Let’s take a break and watch a clip from
Damar Hamlin gives his family a ❤️❤️❤️ ahead of tonight’s game.

It is important to see that now.

🙏

pic.twitter.com/hsFYTQljB4

— Coaches Tribune (@coachestribune) January 3, 2023

Following his injury, fans showed their support for Hamlin by contributing millions of dollars to an online fundraiser Hamlin started in 2020 – before turning pro – to buy toys for children affected by the COVID-19 -pandemic in his hometown. By midday Tuesday, it had raised more than $3.8 million, far surpassing its original goal of $2,500.

Hamlin wrote on the page that this fundraiser would be the first Chasing M’s Foundation program he created to give back to his community (Hamlin is also the founder and CEO of Chasing M’s, a clothing brand he developed during his college days Has).

“As I embark on my journey into the NFL, I will never forget where I came from and I am committed to using my platform to positively impact the community that raised me,” he said.

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