Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has been cleared to return to football, and he revealed the cause of his cardiac arrest during “Monday Night Football” on Jan. 2.
Hamlin met with the media for roughly 12 minutes Tuesday, explaining what happened the night of Jan. 2 and announcing his intention to return to football.
“To have a family, to have people around me that love me, that care about me, and for those people to still have me in their lives.
“They almost lost me. I died on national TV in front of the whole world. You know what I mean? That right there is just the biggest blessing of it all. For me to still have my people and for my people to still have me.”
Hamlin continued:
“It’s a direct blow at a specific point in your heartbeat that causes cardiac arrest,” Hamlin said Tuesday during a media session at the Bills’ practice facility. “Five to seven seconds later, you fall out, and that’s pretty much what everybody’s seen Jan. 2 of this year. Commotio cordis is the leading cause of death in youth athletes across all sports, so that’s something that I will personally be taking a step in to make a change.”
What Is Commotio Cordis?
According to the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, if a person is struck in the chest at a specific time in the heart rhythm cycle, the heart’s electrical signal can be interrupted, resulting in the heart stopping. This rare cause of the heart suddenly stopping is called commotio cordis.
The blunt force that causes commotio cordis often comes from a hard object or ball hitting the chest, such as a baseball, a softball, or a hockey puck, but it can come from any type of blow. The average victim of commotio cordis is 14 years of age. Young people are at higher risk because the chest wall is less developed and transmits force more easily.
Hamlin has been working to bring awareness as well as the importance of CPR training. He partnered with the American Heart Association on the latter and has sat down with their CEO, Nancy Brown.
Hamlin Hopes to Inspire And Educate
“This event was life-changing, but it’s not the end of my story,” Hamlin added Tuesday. “My heart is still in the game. I love the game. It is something I want to prove to myself, not nobody else. I just wanna show people that that fear is a choice, that you can keep going in something without having the answers and without knowing what’s at the end of the tunnel. Or you might feel anxious, you might feel any type of way, but you just keep putting that right foot in front of the left one, and you keep going. I want to stand for that.”
A noble and inspiring message to be sure. While being an inspiration to many, hopefully Hamlin maintains the proper perspective when it comes to football and listens to his medical specialists.
Hamlin’s story wasn’t all inspirational. Disingenuous and bad-faith actors on the political right tried to use Hamlin’s cardiac arrest as a proxy in the culture wars against vaccinations, specifically the COVID-19 vaccine.
It was pretty disgusting, but kudos to Hamlin and his team for trusting science and medical professionals and using the incident as an opportunity to not only bring awareness but educate.
It won’t be a seamless road back to playing football. Hamlin will have to take it one day at a time.
“Being around my teammates, the camaraderie of the sport of football, you know, that’s what makes this sport the best in the world, is the brotherhood that it creates, the unity that it creates between all people of all aspects of life and just different journeys, it brings them together for one common goal,” said Hamlin.
Hamlin has been cleared from a physical standpoint to resume football activities. He will need support to get himself ready mentally and the team has said they will provide him with whatever is needed.
The Bills’ voluntary offseason training began on Monday.
