Troy Aikman praises Joe Buck for handling of Damar Hamlin incident

Troy Aikman has praised long-time broadcast partner and ESPN play-by-play announcer Joe Buck for how Buck handled Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffering cardiac arrest on Monday night.

"I will say this, Joe Buck was — as you guys know, I’ve worked with him for 21 years, and I’ve been with him in some of the greatest moments in sports and I’ve seen him at his best. And he’s unbelievable, but I think this was his finest moment," Aikman remarked during an appearance on Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket, per Joey Hayden of The Dallas Morning News (h/t NESN, TMZ Sports). 

Both Aikman and Buck made the jump from Fox to ESPN/ABC after the 2021 NFL season to call "Monday Night Football" games. While they've been on-air partners since 2002, no amount of experience could've prepared either for what occurred during the recent prime-time game between the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. 

ESPN cameras didn't attempt to show Hamlin receiving CPR on the field at Paycor Stadium. Instead, the broadcast featured reactions from team personnel and fans in the stands as medical professionals worked to save Hamlin's life. 

"I think he handled everything better than anyone could have," Aikman continued about Buck. "Any broadcaster — I don’t care if it’s sports or news or whatever it might be — I thought he was really, really good at what he was doing and broadcasting to America what was taking place, and doing it in a way that he wasn’t speculating or sensationalizing in any way, not an easy thing to do." 

Bengals radio play-by-play broadcaster Dan Hoard and ESPN's Scott Van Pelt have explained why they didn't wish to speculate on Hamlin's condition immediately after the medical emergency. On Thursday, doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center noted that Hamlin displayed a remarkable improvement over a 24-hour period. 

Aikman said that he agreed with the call to postpone the game Monday and not restart it at any point this week. Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press reported Thursday that the NFL will not finish the Bills-Bengals game before the playoffs, but it was unclear at that time how the league will handle postseason seeding.