Damar Hamlin caused a stir when he collapsed on the field. But it was not a routine hit. The incident which occurred during the Bills versus Bengals game has prompted discourse circling around the 24-year-old.

In what is an unprecedented event, the Bills’ safety collapsed during the game. Now, the NFL is no newcomer to see players drop to the floor. But in most cases, the individuals in question don’t receive CPR like Hamlin.

After tacking Bengals WR Tee Higgins, Hamlin was on his feet before stumbling and hitting the ground. As it later came to light, the safety suffered a cardiac arrest. An issue of this magnitude was bound to garner attention and stir conversation.

Narratives that condemned the league, and Higgins were part of the conversation online. The Hamlin family had to be involved in quelling these fires. As emotions ran high, with the football world worried about the safety’s health, every narrative was bound to get attention.

And that’s exactly what happened when fans got a whiff of the Scientific American article that viewed the incident from a racial standpoint.

The Damar Hamlin incident brought a new avenue of discourse

Tracie Canada’s piece argued that the representation of Black individuals in positions of power was subsequently low when compared to the domination of Black athletes on the football field.

Canada argued that the system benefitted from these players in a high-risk-less-reward structure, where athletes put themselves on the line on a daily basis.

The accusation points a finger at the league for benefitting culturally and financially because of Black athletes. This isn’t exactly an issue of small consequence.

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Super Bowl-winning safety Tony Dungy opened an avenue for more discourse around the issue. Dungy took a firm stance against the piece’s notion of racial stacking within the league.

The former safety headed to Twitter to add his thoughts to the already abounding opinions of being thrown into the hat. He wrote, “As a black man and former NFL player I can say this article is absolutely ridiculous.” Fans in the NFL world also condemned the article’s stance. One user trolled the pieces by sarcastically saying

This user asked

One fan took a shot at the magazine

This user remarked

One fan has only two words

It seemed like Dungy’s words echoed the majority.

Fans were not pleased by the emergence of the issue in light of the Hamlin incident

Dungy’s words carry influence within the football community. Coming from a former NFL star, who is also Black, the issue will undoubtedly make its rounds online. Drawing attention away from the fact that this is being spoken about in light of Damar Hamlin’s collapse, on its own, the issue would have triggered as intense a discourse at any given time.

While the desensitization of violence in the sport is still a valid argument among fans, the inclusion of race-specific connotations seems to have disrupted the momentary solidarity caused by the Damar Hamlin incident.

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However, with the positive updates regarding the safety’s current health, the NFL world will be inclined to let the events of the last few days sink in.

The volatility of such situations ensures the ignition of trivial conversations. Football is what unites the NFL world, and the events of the last few days will remind fans of the solidarity that was found despite their differences.