Damar Hamlin's Injury

On January second, twenty twenty three, the football world stood in silence as we watched Tamar Hamlin collapse on the field. Question was happen? And is he going to be okay? Let's find out the story behind this event. Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reeth, your guide through the iconic moments in sports every day. Now to Mar Hamlin was not a majorly known person until the tragic day of January second. But who was he before this? And how did he get to this point and how did the world change when this happened. DeMar grew up in McKees Rock, Pennsylvania. It was a standout at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, earning first team All State and the class for a Defensive Player of the Year. Was a four star recruit and went to his hometown school, University of Pittsburgh in twenty sixteen. Unfortunately, an injury forced him to medically redshirt his freshman year, but he came back from an injury, something that may continue to happen during his career. In his first season of playing, he racked up forty one tackles an interception in just nine games. He continued this streak through the rest'stic career at Pittsburgh, showcasing great skills at the safety position, being named to multiple All SEC teams throughout his career, and after graduating with a degree in communications, he entered the NFL draft, and though his accolades were very good, he was not the biggest at six foot or two hundred pounds, so he did not go high in the draft. He was drafted in the sixth round by the Buffalo Bills, but that didn't stop him from working his way on to the team and becoming an important part of the Buffalo Bill's defense. His first season, he was able to make the team as a special team specialist, playing in fourteen games and getting on the field for a few defensive series to break up two passes. But his sophomore season in the NFL was when everything changed. His life took a dramatic turn when in Week two that year, Bill's Pro Bowl safety Micah Hyde suffered a season ending neck indry, which damar in two a starting role, a role he took and ran with, and his success on the field helped the Buffalo Bills continue to win that season, and in January two, twenty twenty three, they entered the second to last weekend of the year in the final Monday night football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, another AC team who was fighting for playoff seed, the winner of which could get the number one seed, so this was a very important game and a game watched by millions. As the game started, everything was routine. Nothing stood out, even when Joe Burrow from the Cincinnati Bengals through past the t Higgins whereas te Higgins was getting tackled, lowered his shoulder which hit Damar in the chest as they went down. On the tackle, everything looked routine, not a vicious hit, not an illegal hit, a routine tackle, one that Damar had made many times, but this one was different, and after the tackle, Damar stands up for a moment before collapsing onto the field, laying there motionless. The players on the field motioned for the athletic trainers and the EMTs to get there as soon as they could, and within ten seconds they were by his side giving him CPR an ae D treatment. The soldaut crowd stood in silence. Within ten minutes, an ambulance was on the field to straightfor Damar to the hospital. At the University of Cincinnati. As his life clung in the balance. Damar had suffered a cardiac arrest. As the world didn't know what they had, I just saw it was a reminder of how violent this game actually is. Even on a routine play could cause a loss of life or serious injury. But luckily this did not have that. Ending the game was called. They did not finish the game because what was more important that day was Damar's life, not who won and could make the playoffs. The world watched with anticipation over the next week, getting updates on whether DeMar was gonna be okay. This transcended sports. This was what everyone was talking about at the water cooler. Everyone was asking about it, wondering about it. Is he gonna is he gonna live? Is he gonna play again? But within a week he was released from the hospital and we found out that he had a rare condition called cardio cordilius, which disrupts cardiac rhythmic and considered ninety seven percent fatal if not treated within three minutes. So the fact that he had the athletic trainers in the EMTs on his side within ten seconds saved his life and luckily to Mar's outlook was not bad. Every day got better and better, and the support he saw from not only Bills fans, but from Cincinnati Bengals fans was tremendous. His charity that he had set up before all of this received over twenty million dollars in donations, which he has used to help in heart research, and amazingly, the beginning of the two thousand and twenty three season saw Tomar Hamlin making the Buffalo Bill's team and participating in their season. Who no longer at the starter, still back on the team helping them hopefully win a championship as he was able to recover within six months and given a clean bit of health to participate in the NFL. We will always remember what happened that day and remind us how dangerous the game of football can actually be and to not take it for granted, as Tamar is not taking his life for granted and showing what can be done even in adversity. Thank you for joining us for to day's daily sports history. Tell everyone you know about the history you learn today, and come back tomorrow for more history.