UPDATED with more details: Monday night soccer came to a complete halt tonight when Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The moment happened with less than 6 minutes in the first quarter. Hamlin tackled wide receiver Tee Higgins and was able to get up but collapsed seconds later.
First responders rushed to the field to help the 24-year-old player and performed CPR for several minutes. He was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
About an hour after the injury, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Hamlin was taken to the hospital in “critical condition” and the game was postponed.
“Hamlin received immediate medical attention at the scene from a team and independent medical staff, as well as local paramedics. He was then taken to a local hospital where he is in critical condition,” the NFL official statement said.
During the delay, ESPN’s studio analysts attempted to put the situation into perspective for viewers.
“We have never experienced anything like this before. I’ve never seen it, I’ve never been a part of it, I’ve never heard of it. … All you can do now is pray for this Lord. … This is someone’s son, someone’s brother, someone’s father — they want to know what’s going on,” ESPN studio analyst Booger McFarland said.
Adam Schefter added: “Chilling to see it. And in this day and age that we live in, you can just see that on social media [that] every single team, every single player, every single person offering their prayers for Damar Hamlin. … The game is so secondary to everything else. No one cares about the game, no, everyone cares about this young man, his family and finding out how he’s doing.”
Players from both teams were dismayed at what had just happened to their colleague and some were even spotted crying.
ESPN and ABC continued their coverage and after more than an hour since Hamlin’s injury,
NFL/ABC/ESPN
The NGFL statement added, “Our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills. We will provide more information as it becomes available. The NFL has been in constant contact with the NFL Players Association, which agrees with the game’s postponement.”
The NFL Players Association also issued a statement, saying, “The NFLPA and everyone in our community is praying for Damar Hamlin. We’ve been in touch with Bills and Bengals players, as well as the NFL. The only thing that matters right now is Damar’s health and well-being.”