In the world of professional sports where wins and losses are at the forefront, it’s easy to forget the athletes are more than just the jersey they wear-they’re human beings.
Fans were given a jarring reminder of this during last week’s Monday Night NFL game when Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills went into cardiac arrest after a seemingly routine hit on Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins.
As far as football plays go, there really wasn’t anything all that out of the ordinary about the tackle. Higgins’ shoulder hit Hamlin in the chest as both players went down. Hamlin got up instantly-only to collapse the very next second. Medical trainers were quickly at his aid, administering life saving CPR and restoring his heartbeat. He was transported to hospital and remained sedated and on a ventilator until last Thursday when it was reported he was awake. In true athlete fashion, shortly after waking up he communicated through writing his desire to know if his team had won the game.
Not that the outcome of the game really mattered, but the game was actually suspended after that horrifying incident.
By in large, the social media comments related to the incident were expressions of concern for Hamlin.
But of course social media has a dark underbelly and it was on full display in the aftermath of the incident as well. Reading the comment section of any online news article always comes with risk and it’s often the perfect way to lose all faith in humanity.
Sadly as one would expect, there were more than a few comments from ‘fans’ upset that the game was halted after the hit.
And while it may sound ridiculous to most people to expect that the players take the field just a few minutes after witnessing a traumatic injury, the NFL reportedly didn’t think so. Reports indicate the league was in favour of restarting the game but the notion was quickly-and rightfully-nixed by the players’ union.
As troubling as some of the reactions to Hamlin’s injury were, it’s nothing new either. Perhaps owing in large part due to the fact a lot of pro athletes make more in a month a lot of people make in 10 years, fans tend to view athletes in a different light. The star athlete had a bad game? Fans will demand that player get traded, sometimes to a team on the other side of the country. The fact it could mean uprooting an entire family makes no difference in the eyes of the average sports fan. Truth be told an athlete is probably lucky if they worst thing shouted at them during a game is that they should be traded.
Tragic as Hamlin’s injury is-thankfully at last check he was making great progress-at the very least it can serve as a reminder that there really is more to life than wins and losses. It’s never a bad idea to keep in mind the players out there aren’t much different than the people in the stands-no matter it be pro or amateur.
-Adam Prudhomme