ESPN sided with Joe Buck, who reported that the NFL wanted play between the Bills and Bengals to resume after a five-minute break in the wake of Damas Hamlin’s heart attack.
Given the magnitude of the moment, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman dealt with the shock of Hamlin’s devastation as well Anyone can expect. ESPN did its best to hide Hamlin — who received nearly 10 minutes of CPR on the field — as he fought for his life.
After Hamlin was eventually removed by ambulance and taken to the hospital, Buck reported over the broadcast that the NFL wanted the game to resume after a five-minute break. That obviously wouldn’t fly, and the coaches and captains agreed not to compete that night.
The NFL has since denied that this ever happened. ESPN supported the broadcast booth on Tuesday:
“There was ongoing, real-time communication between ESPN and league and game officials,” the statement said. Via Jeff Howe from The Athletic. “As a result, we reported what we were being told at the moment and promptly updated fans as new information came in. This was an unprecedented, rapidly evolving circumstance. Throughout the night, we refrained from speculation.”
Did the NFL want to resume after Damar Hamlin’s injury, or was Joe Buck right?
Right now, it would be hard to blame Pac for reporting the game’s final resumption, as millions of football fans around the world were watching the live broadcast. Ultimately, the league agreed not to resume the game on Monday night, and no decision was made because Hamlin remains in the hospital. The Bills returned home to Buffalo, and the entire NFL watched with bated breath for updates on Hamlin’s condition.
To all of his family and close friends, Hamlin received a positive update this morning from the doctors. The Bills confirmed this in a statement Wednesday afternoon:
“Damar remains in the ICU in critical condition with signs of improvement noted yesterday and overnight. He is expected to remain under intensive care as his healthcare team continues to monitor and treat him.”
We’ll have more updates on Hamlin’s status once it’s available to the public.
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