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During a regularly scheduled Monday Night Football game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, Bills safety Damar Hamlin was transported off the field via ambulance following a sudden collapse.
After completing what appeared to be a routine tackle, Hamlin — a 24-year-old Pennsylvania native who was drafted by the Bills in 2021 — abruptly collapsed roughly halfway through the game’s first quarter. Within minutes, on-the-field health officials administered CPR to the Bills safety and gave him oxygen before he was transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
According to ESPN, Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and had his heartbeat restarted on the field before being taken away in the ambulance. He currently remains sedated and in critical condition at the hospital.
The incident has prompted the NFL to indefinitely postpone the game, in which the Bengals led 7-3.What We Know
Since the Monday night tragedy, speculation has rippled across social media about the root cause of Hamlin’s collapse.
Was it the force of the hit? Did Hamlin receive the Covid jab and was it a contributing factor? Or did Hamlin catch Covid and have it weaken his heart? The simple answer is that we don’t know anything concrete at this point.
Among the more common theories cycling throughout the media is that commotio cordis contributed to Hamlin’s cardiac arrest. Such a phenomenon occurs when “a blow to the chest over the region of the heart by a blunt object” causes a “concussion of the heart.” But the situation remains speculative.
