“Do Not Judge”: Damar Hamlin Jacket Controversy Explained in 400 Words

Damar Hamlin made headlines again but this time for the wrong reasons. A section of fans was critical of the jacket he wore during his Super Bowl appearance. It seems, with his choice of drip, he has upset fans in various ways. Many called the jacket blasphemous including some current and former players. But the Buffalo Bills safety doesn’t believe so and clarified his position.

Everybody has their own opinion on the controversy. Here is the controversy explained in brief for those who are still wondering what happened during Hamlin’s Super Bowl LVII appearance.

The Damar Hamlin jacket controversy 

Damar Hamlin attended the Super Bowl clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. This was the first Super Bowl since Hamlin’s horrific cardiac arrest on the field earlier in January. But the Bills safety hogged the limelight due to an entirely different reason, his jacket.

Hamlin wore a varsity jacket that is a collaboration between Rapper Travis Scott and Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. Saint Michael is the brand that sells the collection. It has a message on the front that reads, “Without end or beginning, there is no day and there is no night”. But it is the back that became a problem.

The back of the jacket features an image that resembles Christ wearing a crown of thorns on a cross. And the face is an abstract figure, something that Murakami does regularly. It also has the message ‘eternal’ engraved on the back.

Read more: “Absolutely Disgusted”: Damar Hamlin’s “Disrespectful” Super Bowl Jacket Sparks Row on NFL Twitter

Many fans, including former Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, criticized Hamlin for wearing the jacket. The Bills safety explained his side via Twitter.

Hamlin’s explanation 

Damar Hamlin had a simple message to all his critics, do not judge. He said that he did understand why the jacket may be offensive to some people. But his relationship with God wasn’t tied to symbolic images.

“My beliefs and Relationship with God is not tied to symbolic images. I will learn from this and continue to walk in Love as I ALWAYS have,” Hamlin tweeted as a part of his explanation.

The young safety also referenced a verse from the Bible about not judging others.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you,” Matthew 7:1-5, the verse Hamlin referenced, says.

The controversy has died down a little after Hamlin’s explanation, although some of it still persists with some fans.

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