Damar Hamlin, safety for the Buffalo Bills, has been at the forefront of the minds of the entire world since he went into cardiac arrest during Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. As a show of support, many flooded to his Toy Drive GoFundMe, which has since surpassed $6 million.
While Hamlin remains sedated and in critical condition as of the writing of this article, positive progress has been made, including his ventilator being dropped from 100% oxygen needed to just 50%.
Teams across the NFL returned to work Wednesday as many postponed press conferences Tuesday. The Pro Football Hall of Fame even delayed their announcement of the 15 finalists for the Class of 2023 to Wednesday out of respect for Hamlin.
The Jets got back on the field but are just going through a walkthrough Wednesday. Head coach Robert Saleh spoke to reporters Wednesday and discussed how the team handled the situation and what the team did Wednesday morning.
“It’s an unfortunate tragedy, just opened it up, in the team room, just opened it up for the guys to speak,” Saleh said. “Obviously, our doctors were in there if they had any questions for the docs and gave the doctors the floor to speak on that, too. A very hard situation, as I’m sure it is in every building in the NFL right now. Just our thoughts and prayers to him and praying for a speedy recovery.”
Saleh added: “I think when you’re in the building, I don’t think it ever leaves you — when I’ve gotten up here and talked about how these young men deserve everything they got. They earn it all. They deserve to have as much as they’re asking for, and they deserve whatever the NFL is willing to give them. It’s because we know what they do every day. We know how hard it is to play this game, and it’s not just playing the game of football, it’s all the preparation and how much their bodies hurt every day. When you look at guys like Duane Brown and George Fant and how much they’re sacrificing just to step out on the field. I think it’s a reminder, but I think it’s a giant punch in the gut to everybody, especially outside the NFL circles. You just watch it, and lack the actual empathy to put themselves in the shoes of these football players and what they go through on a daily basis.”
Saleh acknowledged that injuries happen all the time in football, but this is “the first of this nature” and says that “God willing, the last and only.”
The Jets, along with the rest of the league (and the world, for that matter) continue to share their thoughts and prayers for Hamlin. You can support Hamlin’s toy drive by clicking this link.