ESPN’s Bomani Jones was just like so many of us, horrified by what happened when Damar Hamlin, a safety for the Buffalo Bills, collapsed during the second quarter of Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals after a routine hit on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins.
Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field and required CPR and medical care before he was transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for treatment where he remains in critical condition.
Jones appeared on CNN this morning and said that while he initially assumed that Hamlin had suffered a spinal injury, it soon became clear that the situation was even more critical than that.
https://twitter.com/JoPrestonTV/status/1610272744737804289?s=20&t=NjSqFcAbgm69AunKfpiNfQ
“After they came back from a couple of commercial breaks and then said they were administering CPR, I called one of my colleagues and said ‘Did we watch somebody die?'” Jones said.
When asked about how the NFL can deal with safety issues to prevent situations like this, Jones offered a very sobering metaphor for what it’s like to play football.
"It's like trying to make a safe cigarette."
ESPN host Bomani Jones on whether football will ever be safe following the collapse of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. Watch here: https://t.co/cWOIbxXkDr
— CNN (@CNN) January 3, 2023
“It’s like trying to make a safe cigarette,” said Jones. “It’s just not really how this works. How this game works. And part of the reason people watch is the fact that it’s not safe. Like, that’s an element to the drama of this.
“You think they can find a way to make this safe? No, they can’t. That’s just not what this game is or what it’s ever going to be.”
[CNN]
