Monday night football took a tragic turn when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The 24-year-old player collapsed on the field after a collision with Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. As of early Tuesday morning, Hamlin was still in critical condition at Cincinnati hospital.
Russell Wilson, quarterback of the Denver Broncos, was among the first to tweet his support, saying, "Wow. Prayers for you @HamlinIsland. Prayers for health and safety." J.J. Watt, defensive end of the Arizona Cardinals, tweeted, "The game doesn't matter. Damar Hamlin's life does. Be calm. Be safe."
Pittsburgh Panthers football program, where Hamlin played college ball, tweeted, "Damar Hamlin is the best of us. We love you, 3. We're praying for you." Born in Pennsylvania, Hamlin was selected by the Bills in the 2021 NFL draft and has played in every game this season.
The game was paused at 5:58 of the first quarter and officially postponed by the NFL, with further updates to be released later. The league emphasized Hamlin's well-being as top priority. The Bengals twitter account posted, "Our thoughts and prayers are with Damar."
Higgins, the Bengals wide receiver involved in the collision, tweeted, "My prayers and thoughts are with the Hamlin family @HamlinIsland. I hope you get through this, brother." Baker Mayfield, quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams, tweeted, "Unbelievably sad...guaranteed heavy heart right now. Praying for @HamlinIsland for his health and the Hamlin family."
Patrick Mahomes, quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, tweeted, "Praying for you @HamlinIsland. Hope you're okay, man." American tennis star Jessica Pegula, daughter of Bills owner Terry Pegula, called the incident "terrible," following a Fed-Cup tennis match in Australia. "There's really nothing to say," she told reporters. "I'm glad they stopped the games. It reminds you there are so many more important things than sports and games."
Later, she tweeted, "In times like these, we will be reminded of perspective. It's just a game and in the end, it doesn't really matter what happened tonight. My prayers are with Damar and his family. This team is a family, football is a family, and sports bring us together as a family."
Coco Gauff, another tennis star, added, "Our prayers go out to Damar and his family. I wish him a full recovery. What matters is health and family. Football and sports are secondary." NBA star Donovan Mitchell tweeted he would be "praying for the safety of the Bills" after scoring a historic 71 points for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
LeBron James, who set an NBA record by scoring 40 or more points in nine straight games, told reporters, "I had no idea what happened. But my thoughts and prayers go in the heavens for this family, for him, for the brotherhood of the NFL, for everyone in the NFL family. It was the right decision to stop the game, regardless of who made the decision, whether it's Roger Goodell or anyone else with the authority to make the decision."
James added, "I'm a big fan of the NFL. I'm a big fan of football. This is something you don't want to see happen in this type of game." He later tweeted, "Praying for you, young man!"
Among many other MLB stars, Mike Trout tweeted, "Prayers for Damar Hamlin."
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