The entire NFL community is in shock after what happened on Monday night. The first shock came in the form of Buffalo Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin’s injury, as he collapsed onto the field. The second shock came in the form of ESPN’s Joe Buck announcing on air, that the NFL planned to resume the game within 5 minutes of Hamlin being stretchered out. The NFL has since denied such a call was made.
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Hamlin collapsed on the field during the Bills vs Cincinnati Bengals game, after he tackled Bengals’ receiver, Tee Higgins. Receiving a hit square on his chest seemingly sent him into cardiac arrest. After receiving CPR and other aids on the field for around 15 minutes, an ambulance took him to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Where he is currently in a critical state.
While this tragic scene was unfolding at the Paycor Stadium, another tragedy was brewing nearby. Allegedly, ESPN received news that the teams were given a 5-minute warm-up period, from an unnamed official. ESPN promptly put that information out in the open, with commentator Joe Buck repeating it several times on air.
When the coaches heard about this, they immediately sent their teams back to the locker room. While they talked to officials and each other about how to proceed. It was clear that the coaches had no intention of making their teams play after witnessing such a tragic accident. An hour later, the NFL officially postponed the game, which many think happened far too late.
NFL denies issuing 5-minute warning amidst tragic injury to Damar Hamlin
One such person in disbelief of the alleged “5-minute” warning call is former Indianapolis Colts kicker and analyst Pat McAfee. On ‘The Pat McAfee Show’, he talks about who he thinks might be responsible for making the call and getting the NFL into hot water. He also mentions how senior NFL executive Troy Vincent’s take on this issue is important since he’s a former player.
“There’s a lot of heat coming down on the NFL last night for not just canceling the game,” he said. “And then there was a report about five minutes to warm up, let’s get back out there… Troy Vincent, very powerful in this whole thing, he came out and said ‘we never said five-minute brief, and then we’re going to play again’.”
“And I assume, that that decision was made by somebody on the field. Who might be loosely associated with the NFL. Maybe they do have a position on the NFL. And they told somebody that because we saw Joe Burrow throw. We saw Stefan Diggs kind of try to rally the boys while crying,” he adds.
Ian Rapoport, appearing on the show, says Vincent is frustrated about the whole incident. Vincent, speaking to media representatives through a conference call late on Monday, said, “I’m not sure where that came from – five minutes warm up never, never crossed my mind, personally. That’s ridiculous. That’s insensitive, and that’s not a place that we should ever be in.”
With Hamlin’s status still critical, it will be interesting to see if the NFL starts talking about the postponed game anytime soon. A game of such magnitude and serious implications for the playoff will definitely give them a big headache. What will the next few days hold for the NFL community?
