This week, NFL Players Association Medical Director Thom Mayer raised some eyebrows when he confidently guaranteed that Damar Hamlin will play football again even after a life-threatening injury that left him in immediate need of life-saving CPR on the field during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals this season. But it sounds like there are still a lot of decisions to be made.
In an interview with the Washington Post this week, NFL medical director Allen Sills revealed that the Buffalo Bills are bringing in experts to help Damar Hamlin make a decision about his playing career.
“This is about a player and a patient and about getting the very best care,” Sills told the Washington Post. “And, again, I do want to protect the privacy of those involved. But what I would say is I know that the Buffalo Bills have already engaged a number of outside consultants and will continue to do so. And they’ll gather opinions and then, [with] all of those opinions, they’ll sit down with Mr. Hamlin, his family, his agents, all the people that love him and lay that out. And that’s what we do in medicine every day is say, ‘Here’s our understanding of risks. Here’s our understanding of the situation. Let us make sure that you have all the information and make a good decision.’ And ultimately that is the decision.”
“It’s his decision,” Sills said, “and he is the person that will need to drive that decision, and then we’ll all line up and support that. So I think that’s something to happen down the road. I think right now the focus is on his recovery and his continued improvement. And then there will be another day and time to discuss all that. But it will be strictly led by him and those that are close to him. And the Buffalo medical staff, I know, has, as I said, already engaged and will engage a lot of experts to help provide input and opinions into that process.”
