“They Should’ve Cancelled the Game Right Away”: Stern Shaquille O’Neal Opposes Skip Bayless Over Damar Hamlin Shocker

The intense pressure of sports is burdening for athletes all around. Such pressure naturally leads to a lot of sports stars excessively focusing on their health. Shaquille O’Neal along with his colleagues were very shocked at a recent event involving Damar Hamlin at an NFL game on Monday. Among the divisive opinions on social media, Shaq and co. decided to choose the more sensitive opinion in the argument. Veteran sports presenter, Skip Bayless, wasn’t among the ones for the cause which led to him facing heavy criticism.

Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety suffered from a cardiac arrest during the primetime game in Ohio on Monday. The game was suspended, a decision that wasn’t appreciated by Bayless as he tweeted out his thoughts. Meanwhile, Bayless’ opinion wasn’t appreciated by the rest of the Twitterverse.

Shaquille O’Neal content with the suspension of the Bills-Bengals game

Hamlin’s collapse and 30-minute treatment on the field shook a lot of people. Hence, the NFL decided to suspend the game and not continue it, respecting Hamlin’s condition. The Los Angeles Lakers legend, Shaquille O’Neal chimed in on the sensitive issue. In the recent episode of The Big podcast, Shaq agreed with the decision of the league.

“At the end of the day they made the right decision,” said Shaq. The Lakers legend explained how a case of cardiac arrest wasn’t like any other injury faced on the field. Further reiterating the focus one should have on Hamlin and his well-being.

When co-host Nischelle Turner pointed out how Hamlin was resuscitated on the field, Shaq remarked “Yeah at that point they should’ve just canceled the game right away. Just let everybody know we’re not even thinking about the game right now.”

Some people weren’t of the same opinion though, like Skip Bayless. A lot of people weren’t fans of his tweet on the incident. Bayless wasn’t quite supportive of NFL’s decision as he couldn’t find any clarity on the future of the match.

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Although Bayless apologized for his actions later, many didn’t care as they decided to focus on Hamlin’s health. The 24-year-old is on the road to “continued progress” at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. 

Hamlin’s condition a week after the terrifying incident in Ohio

Initially, Hamlin was put on a ventilator to assist with his breathing. But currently, the NFL star “continues to breathe on his own” with a good neurological condition. Other teams like Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders showed support to Hamlin before the game.

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On Saturday, Hamlin gave his first public statement after the incident. The NFL star was filled with a lot of gratitude while recovering as he mentioned in his Instagram post.