Like so many others on Tuesday, ESPN analyst Bart Scott discussed the unfortunate and scary injury that Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered on Monday Night Football. Unlike many of them, he decided to lay blame on the person who hit Hamlin, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins.
Monday’s game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals was halted after Hamlin collapsed to the ground following a collision with Higgins. Hamlin was unable to breathe on his own after the play and was issued CPR and AED by medical staff before being rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. It was later announced that he suffered cardiac arrest.
Meanwhile, the game was suspended for the evening and it’s unknown if it will be played at all.
Meanwhile, Higgins was clearly distraught by the outcome of the play, which, by all accounts, was a clean hit. He released a statement on Monday night and the NFL world rallied to support him as well.
However, Scott apparently thinks that Higgins’ hit was dirty.
Here’s the clip for everyone asking: Bart Scott straight up accusing Tee Higgins of lowering his helmet into the chest of Damar Hamlin. It was not close to a dirty play. Freak accident. pic.twitter.com/uyDwwOEgpi
— Faux Joey Brrr (@FauxJeaux) January 3, 2023
“Right before the tackle, he (Higgins) lowers his helmet, and he kind of throws his body into his (Hamlin’s) chest,” Scott said on First Take. “He’s (Hamlin) standing up because he’s thinking he’s got to take Tee Higgins at an angle to make a tackle. So, he didn’t expect Tee Higgins to launch his body back into him. A lot of times you see it as a linebacker. Running back comes through the hole and he knows that contact’s coming, so he lowers his helmet and you can’t get underneath him. He’s able to get into you and your chest is exposed. So they’ve taken that out of the game, but they don’t really regulate it as much as possible. I expect the league will be a lot more vigilant when it comes to that and using that penalty.”
The NFL world was justifiably upset with Scott over his comments.
“I’m sure Tee Higgins already feels awful. Bart Scott probably made him feel worse. This was a freak accident, can’t place the blame on anyone,” said sports journalist Michael Balko.
I’m sure Tee Higgins already feels awful- Bart Scott probably made him feel worse.
This was a freak accident, can’t place the blame on anyone @BartScott57.
pic.twitter.com/L1I2PILg6L— Michael Balko (@MichaelBalkoJr) January 3, 2023
“Tee Higgins already felt bad for what happened to Demar Hamlin. It was an accident. This is an L take by Bart Scott,” said BeyondWSports’ LaDarius Brown.
Tee Higgins already felt bad for what happened to Demar Hamlin. It was an accident. This is an L take by Bart Scott:pic.twitter.com/WQf0G62zFI
— LaDarius Brown (@ladarius_brown) January 3, 2023
“That is totally ridiculous, what happened was a freak accident,” said NFL reporter Dov Kleiman.
On ESPN, Bart Scott blamed #Bengals WR Tee Higgins for the incident with Damar Hamlin.
That is totally ridiculous, what happened was a freak accident.pic.twitter.com/5Sbh3GxslC
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 3, 2023