Every time an NFL player steps on the field, he knows the risks involved in the game—but not this. Never this.
No athlete ever imagines that his very life could be put in immediate peril on the football field.
Derek Stingley, Dennis Byrd, Ryan Shazier, Ricardo Lockette—as terrifying as these situations were, they did not result in CPR being administered on the field. They did not cause the country to watch helplessly in shock and horror as medics frantically fought to restart a young man’s heart.
Damar Hamlin is in this situation. Damar Hamlin the human being is fighting for his life, in critical condition after suffering a cardiac arrest on the field.