NFL Slammed for Hype Around Damar Hamlin. Is His Comeback Worth a Celebration?

Damar Hamlin, who suffered a near-death experience on the field last season, returned to play with the Cincinnati Bengals this week. However, as the team and the entire league were celebrating Hamlin’s triumphant comeback, sports analyst Bomani Jones wasn’t happy with the treatment of the NFL.

Resonating the emotions of the fans, the analyst highlighted the unnecessity of the actions from the NFL’s side. Despite being a special day for the Buffalo Bills, the football world was quick to call out the league on the same, simultaneously bringing attention to Hamlin’s comeback after months.

Is Damar Hamlin’s comeback overly hyped?

While the league turned Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s comeback into celebration, an American sports journalist has been calling out the NFL for the same. In his latest podcast, Bomani Jones remarked about it, saying, “I do recognize that the role of sport in society is value promotion and all of these things. But now that everything has to be made into a television show.”

He continued, “And what they’re trying to do is turn what happened with Damar Hamlin into a story of inspiration. There is nothing inspiring about what happened.” As per Jones, Hamlin becoming emotional and reconnecting with the professionals who saved his life is a positive thing.

However, the issue lies in the NFL’s excessive coverage of the story. The unfortunate incident, according to him, should not be turned into a story to grab the attention of the audience without providing any legitimacy to the emotions. Now, with recent eyes on Hamlin for his comeback, his cardiac arrest incident has once again grabbed limelight.

Read more: Five Reasons That Make Damar Hamlin NFL’s $142,000,000,000 Legend

A return after 10 months!

While playing against the Bengals on Sunday night, January 2, 2023, at Paycor Stadium, safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the ground with a cardiac arrest. At that moment, his medical attendees tried every possible way to make him conscious. He was then later transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

After regaining his consciousness and undergoing treatment, Hamlin thanked all his medical professionals. Most recently 10 months after the incident as came back to the same field, he hosted a dinner for the 10 superheroes who saved his life. He further “surprised them with a scholarship named after each of them that will support youth in Cincy to chase their dreams.”

The NFL highlighted this news and everyone began celebrating his comeback after surviving a life-threatening incident. However, reporter Jones and the NFL fans sure seemed to host a varied view of the comeback story curated for Hamlin. What do you think of the whole ongoing return journey of the star? And the reasoning provided by the journalist for the exaggeration he felt in the situation? Let us know in the comments.

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