January 2, 2023: With just over six minutes left in the first quarter during a game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, the NFL world stopped dead in its tracks. Bills’ safety, Damar Hamlin, suddenly collapsed on the ground after a hard in-game hit from Bengals’ WR Tee Higgins. To many, it was just your usual injury, which was evident from the other players’ faces, including Higgins’, who looked back at his opponent, and swaggered away from the situation. Soon after, an ambulance arrived on the gridiron, and the seriousness of the situation set in.

An official diagnosis revealed the then 25-year -old had suffered a cardiac arrest; Commotio Cordis (also known as “agitation of the heart”) to be exact—a rare condition where the heart suffers an abnormal heart rhythm (ventricular fibrillation) and goes into cardiac arrest triggered by a blunt impact to the chest. The game was canceled.

“Sudden cardiac arrest happens to more than 7,000 kids under the age of 18 every year in our country. The majority of the kids impacted are student athletes. Research shows that one in every 300 youth has an undetected heart condition that puts them at risk,” the player had revealed during a press conference last year, while calling the condition “the leading cause of death in youth athletes across all sports”. Thankfully, Hamlin was cleared to play four months after the incident, and has since made quite an impact in the field. But the situation left a deep mark in the community, with a heartwarming gesture by Travis Kelce from last year making the rounds…

The incident in question happened last year in July when an emotional Hamlin took the stage to present the Pat Tillman Award For Service to the Buffalo Bills training staff who saved his life. For the unversed: The award was named to honor the legacy of former Arizona Cardinals player Pat Tillman—who had left his NFL career to enlist in the US Army eight months after the September 11 attacks, and tragically lost his life in 2004. Having said that…

Hamlin stood atop the stage, wiping away tears in his eyes, saying, “Please welcome this year’s recipient…the training staff of the Buffalo Bills.” As the camera panned toward the audience during Damar’s emotional breakdown, Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce was among the first to stand up for an ovation as per a video that was shared by MLFootball on December 20. Interestingly, that was not the first time that the Chiefs’ tight end opened up about the situation.

Kelce was reportedly driving to a restaurant with his father Ed when they learned of the medical emergency. The player later discussed the situation further during the ‘New Heights’ podcast with brother Jason. “You want to talk about terrifying. You see all the videos of the reactions of guys on the field and immediately you think of putting yourself in their shoes and Damar’s family’s shoes, the things that they’re going through emotionally. It was demoralizing, and it’s scary. It’s scary to see anybody go through that. Let alone somebody that’s doing the same thing that you are, that is playing football, a game. But were watching it and hearing the commentators be very unsure initially about what was going on. And then hearing how serious of a incident it was. Like I said, it was terrifying,” Travis began.

“There’s anywhere from 35 to 40 medical professionals that have their eyes on the game at all times, that are working specifically for situations like this, or if somebody were to get injured on the field. And it was a little reassuring to hear how safe of an environment it is, and that because of that Damar has a chance to be alright. But at the same time … I’m not good at describing these feelings, man. It’s a tough one to even go through.”

“As scary of an incident that it is, the honor that you can have to go out there and play for him, play for the people that are dealing with what they’re dealing with, to try and give them excitement. Trying to give them something to get away from what’s going on in their daily lives. The honor that I get from that, it’s priceless, man. You can’t put a dollar amount on that. You can’t put a ticket on that. I willingly will go out there and honor him, just like I honored Ryan Shazier (who suffered a spinal injury), just like I honored Alex Smith (who suffered a gruesome leg injury). Guys that I have a tremendous amount of respect for.”

As for the Bills’ medical staff, they could only be thankful and proud. During their acceptance speech, Nathan Breske, the team’s head athletic trainer, thanked the army of specialists on and off the field who did their jobs that night. “Damar, first and foremost, thank you for staying alive, brother. We’re not used to having the spotlight on us. We were just doing our job, but the idea of service is definitely something that is ingrained in our profession and that we take great pride in.”

Having said that, as expected, the whole venue was filled with sounds of claps and cheers for Josh Allen’s teammate, and the medical staff.

Commotio cordis condition is 97% fatal if not treated within three minutes. And within the next 10 seconds, when he collapsed, the training staff was attending to him, giving him CPR and other treatments. They brought in an ambulance too, within the next 4 minutes. For 10 minutes, they kept trying on the field but immediately rushed him to the hospital when he didn’t show any improvement. It was for their efforts only that he was safe till the time the doctors attended to him. It’s crazy to think how quickly things can go from 0 to 100 in the gridiron, within seconds.

The sports represent life in general. The courageous one gets the most reward. Hamlin must have been thinking about this after his latest achievement as well…

Damar Hamlin voted as the AFC Pro Bowl Safety

His popularity skyrocketed after that massive ordeal. It was one of those moments where no one could have predicted his return. But he did. In 13 games in 2024, he recorded 83 tackles (58 solo) with 2 interceptions. The NFL announced him as the AFC Pro Bowl Safety earlier this month. It’s huge!

Fans are happy for Josh Allen’s teammate. They have shown their support in every way they can since that incident. Even when Damar Hamlin was in the hospital, they donated millions of dollars to buy toys for the children of his hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, outside Pittsburgh.

This year, the Bills are in a powerful position. With an 11-3 win-loss record, they are first in their AFC East division and 2nd in their conference (below the Chiefs). Can they go all the way and win the Super Bowl? We’ll find out soon.