Shock in the NFL after collapse of Damar Hamlin 4:16
(CNN) --
Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin had established himself with the team in the current NFL season before going into cardiac arrest and collapsing during the Bills' game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday.
Hamlin's pulse was restored on the field, according to the Bills, and he remains in "critical condition" at a Cincinnati hospital.
The match was later abandoned, with players from both teams visibly distraught after the incident.
Hamlin, 24, has played every game this season following injuries to the Bills' defensive backfield.
The player Damar Hamlin is in critical condition: this we know about his health
According to ESPN, the "safety" (position known in Spanish as deep defense) has recorded 91 total tackles, 1.5 quarterback sacks, one forced fumble and two passes defensed in 15 games this season, in which he the Bills (12-3) lead the AFC East standings.
Hamlin entered Monday tied for the second-most tackles on the team.
"I'm taking every moment I can," Hamlin said in a recent interview with One Bills Live.
advertising
Damar Hamlin warms up before a game against the New York Jets in December.
Credit: Jeff Lewis/AP
According to Hamlin's GoFundMe page, the toy drive seeks to "make a positive impact on children hardest hit by the pandemic," stating that 100% of the funds will go towards toys for children in need.
Jordon Rooney, Damar Hamlin's friend and marketing representative, described the 24-year-old as a "fighter".
"I mean, if there's someone I trust to get through anything, it's him. He's someone who always finds a way to come out on top," Rooney told CNN's Adrienne Broaddus on Tuesday.
In an earlier interview, Rooney said he met Hamlin when the player practiced with him and they have been good friends ever since.
"In fact, I know Damar because, being a top division soccer player, he contacted me for an internship."
Rooney told ABC's Robin Roberts on Good Morning America.
"Which is something quite unique and the reason is because he was always interested in being an entrepreneur and wanted to build his own brand."
"He interned for me and then we became very, very friends, so now, you know, we're partners in a business together. We collaborate on a lot of things and we're really good friends."
Hamlin tackles Cincinnati Bengals' Tee Higgins during Monday's game.
Credit: Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Hamlin continued his annual toy drive tradition this year in Buffalo, signing autographs and T-shirts for passing children.
A Pennsylvania native, Hamlin joined the Bills in 2021 as a sixth-round pick (212th overall) out of the University of Pittsburgh.
Prior to that, he won a Pennsylvania state championship while at Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School in 2015, leading the team to a 15-1 record as one of the top-rated defensemen in the state.
What are cardiac arrest, heart attack, and heart failure?
His college career with the Pittsburgh Panthers was interrupted by injuries and in 2016 he was considered a "redshirt," meaning he didn't play games but remained on the team.
In his 46 games in Pittsburgh, Hamlin recorded 275 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, six interceptions, 21 passes defensed and one fumble recovery, according to the Bills.
Following the 2020 season, he earned honorable mention as a second-team All-ACC member.
Hamlin (3) celebrates during the college football game between the UCF Knights and the Pittsburgh Panthers in September 2019. Credit: Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Away from the football field, Hamlin created his Chasing M's Foundation while in college, which began as a program to buy and donate toys to a daycare center in his hometown of McKees Rock, Pennsylvania.
In the hours after Hamlin's collapse, donations to the toy drive organized by Hamlin and the Chasing M's Foundation skyrocketed to over $3 million in a few hours.
"It's something I've always loved, just giving something away," he told CNN affiliate WKBW in December, adding: "I've been doing the toy drive for three years now, so to be able to extend it to Buffalo now is something that I love." loves".
In a 2021 interview with the
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
, Hamlin credited his parents, Mario and Nina Hamlin, with keeping him on the straight and narrow as a child in McKees Rocks, where the newspaper reported drug problems and Gangs that generated one of the highest crime rates in the United States.
"There were times when I could have veered to the right or to the left, but my parents were always there to straighten me out and get me back on track," Hamlin said in an interview with the newspaper.
What happened to the player Damar Hamlin and how common is this situation?
Hamlin noted that some of his father's guidance came from prison, where Mario Hamlin served time for a federal drug offense.
"The good thing is that I already had good goals and good morale set in me at that time," Hamlin told the Rochester newspaper.
Hamlin helped her mother, who was at Monday's game, run a family cleaning business that allowed her to attend the private Pittsburgh Central Catholic high school.
"He has a strong family. He has the perfect support system. They are optimistic," Rooney told CNN, calling Hamlin "more than just an athlete."
"He's in the NFL because he wants to be a role model," Rooney said.
"Part of what drives Damar is being an example to the other young people in his community."
-- Adrienne Broaddus and Michelle Watson contributed reporting.
Damar HamlinAmerican Football
