The back of Damar Hamlin’s helmet sports the slogan “Choose Love.” It’s the newest of seven messages the NFL permits players to display on their helmets, the last vestiges of the league’s nod toward social progress begun in 2020. Like the other slogans, it’s a sentiment so vague as to be meaningless … right up until the moment it becomes clear how critical, and correct, “Choose Love” is.
Hamlin lies in a Cincinnati hospital bed in critical condition after a tackle in which he suffered cardiac arrest. His health remains the priority here, far more important than what the league decides to do about the Bills-Bengals game.