Family of Damar Hamlin speaks out about bashing of Tee Higgins
Following Damar Hamlin’s exit from the field after his collapse Monday night, the family of the Buffalo Bills safety spoke out about Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. Higgins was involved in the tackle from Hamlin that led to his collapse.
Hamlin’s family relayed a message that there would be no good coming from bashing Higgins, who was reportedly distraught in the locker room after the incident against the Bills.
Jordan Rooney, Hamlin’s friend and marketing rep, relayed Hamlin’s family’s message about Higgins.
“Yeah, I mean, when I talked to the parents this morning and kind of told them what’s been going on, they were mad,” Rooney said. “They’re frustrated like this isn’t supporting Damar. Like if you think you’re supporting tomorrow by bashing Tee, you’re not supporting Damar because they don’t agree with anything that’s being said.
“It was a freak football accident that could have happened with anyone at any time. Tee has reached out, he’s gone above and beyond. All signs point to him being a great human being who genuinely cares and feels bad and family feels bad that Tee would have any guilt towards a situation.”
As far as Hamlin’s condition, it was still up in the air.
“It hasn’t changed,” Rooney said. “From the beginning. Everyone has been nervous and worried. I think there’s still that feeling but everyone knows Damar. Everyone knows what he’s capable of. So certainly there’s things outside of our control, but we know Damar will do anything in his control to make sure he comes out on top of this.”
Hamlin exited Monday night’s game with injury via ambulance in a terrifying moment for players and fans. He appeared to be injured on a tackle he made in the first quarter that ended with him getting back up to his feet seemingly okay after the play.
Quickly afterward, Hamlin stumbled and collapsed on the field — leading to a lengthy break in the game as he was attended to by medical staff with players surrounding him.
The broadcast returned during the break several times during the horrific moment, and players appeared to be in distress from what was happening on the field. The broadcast provided a small update to the situation, indicating that medical staff was performing CPR on Hamlin.
After another extended break during the broadcast as medical staff continued to work on Hamlin, another small update indicated that he had been successfully placed on a backboard and stretcher, but had not yet been fully taken in the ambulance. As Hamlin was loaded into the ambulance, he was receiving oxygen as well from the medical staff.