Damar Hamlin remains in critical condition, family asks for prayers
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A serious on-field injury Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered during Monday night's game against the Bengals shook the nation. Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest and spent the night in the intensive care unit where he remains in critical condition, the Bills said in an update.
Damar Hamlin spent last night in the intensive care unit and remains there today in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 3, 2023
We are grateful and thankful for the outpouring of support we have received thus far.
An outpouring of prayers continues to be sent to Hamlin in hopes he is able to recover. His family expressed their gratitude for the love and support the NFL community has shown and asked supporters to continue to pray.
Here is the full statement:
"On behalf of our family, we want to express our sincere gratitude for the love and support shown to Damar during this challenging time. We are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words and donations from fans around the country.
We also want to acknowledge the dedicated first responders and healthcare professionals at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center who have provided exceptional care to Damar. We feel so blessed to be part of the Buffalo Bills organization and to have their support. We also want to thank Coach Taylor and the Bengals for everything they've done.
You're generosity and compassion mean the world to us.
Please keep Damar in your prayers. We will release updates as soon as we have them."
Announcement directly from Damar’s family: pic.twitter.com/MdzgxUmVfg
— Jordon Rooney (@jordonr) January 3, 2023
The remainder of the game was postponed following the injury. The league later announced the game would not be rescheduled for this week.
"The NFL has made no decision regarding the possible resumption of the game at a later date. The league has not made any changes to the Week 18 regular season schedule," a statement posted on Twitter said.
An outpouring of prayers and support erupted across the league including from Philadelphia Eagles players.
The Eagles postponed Tuesday's scheduled media availability with coordinators in respect of the situation.
Coach Nick Sirianni was asked on WIP to react to Hamlin's injury and how it affected him as a coach. Here's what he said:
"It puts everything in perspective. You know, you come back to work, you have a loss that you're really upset about and you're thinking about that, and then something like that happens at night and just puts everything in perspective...these players put their bodies on the line, and I know we've got some guys that know him.
And our first thought is obviously for the kid, that he's OK. And then you want to check on your guys that know him. And you start to think, a lot of things go through your mind, right. And you think about Josh Sweat and how fortunate he is that he was able to get up and be OK. It's just, it's tough to watch. I think my exact words are that I was just kind of in shock.
Because you don't see that very often. And you don't see that happen in this game very often. And it's a violent sport, as we know. ... I thought about everything, how you would lead the team in that matter, and everything. So many things go through your mind there.
At the end of the day I just hope and pray that Damar's OK and that the people that are close to him are OK, and that he'll fight through this and get up from this, and that like I said, everybody that knows him and loves him can be comforted at this time."