For Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, the events that took place Monday night during the eventually postponed match-up between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals due to safety Damar Hamlin‘s health concerns was personal. Hamlin made a routine tackle on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins around midfield early in the first half of the game. He stood up, and then immediately collapsed to the ground.
It was reported by several news outlets that the second-year defensive back suffered cardiac arrest. CPR was administered and Hamlin was on the ground for several minutes. He was soon rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, and the entire NFL family awaits news regarding Hamlin's status.
Tuesday, Tomlin spoke to the media for his weekly press conference. Before he took questions about the team’s upcoming battle against the Cleveland Browns in Week 18, he addressed the Hamlin situation, as Tomlin has a very close relationship with the 24-year-old. Hamlin attended the University of Pittsburgh and is one of Tomlin’s favorite “412’ers.”
“Man, it’s a really personal thing for me. Being a Pittsburgher, and that young man being a Pittsburgher, I’ve known that guy probably since he was about 12. Just got a lot of respect and love for him as a human being. His commitment to the pursuit of his goals and dreams of doing what it is he’s doing right now, which is playing in the NFL, and to watch him make personal decisions and make that a realization, it’s just an honor to get to know young people like that. Had an opportunity to express that to him whenever I’ve seen him.
"We’ve played Buffalo each of the last two seasons and he and I get to have a moment. Because it’s just cool to not only appreciate these guys in terms of where they are now, but to know them since they were younger people and to watch their maturation, their development, to watch them earn what they’ve been chasing; it’s just really a cool thing. He’s an example of that.
"I’ve got a lot of love for that man. We lifted him and that organization up in prayer. I reached out to Sean McDermont to lend whatever assistance I could.”
It has yet to be announced what the NFL will do about the Bills-Bengals game and its continuation. Right now, however, all that matters is the health of Hamlin.
To donate to Hamlin’s “The Chasing M’s Foundation Community Toy Drive,” you can click here.
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