damar hamlinsafety of the buffalo billshas movement in the extremities and can hold a written conversation after suffering a cardiac arrest in his team’s Week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Hamlin’s team will face the New England Patriots in the final week. For this reason, the head coach of the Pats, bill belichickbegan Thursday’s press conference with his best wishes for the 24-year-old defensive back and stated that the injury was similar to one he saw when he was offensive coordinator for the New York Jets.
“When I saw the situation it reminded me a lot of an experience I had with the Jets in 1997.. We played the Lions, I think it was the last game of that season and Reggie Brown got hurt,” said the Patriots head coach. “It was a normal play, Adrian Murrell ran with the ball and he was tackled. Everyone went back to the huddle and Reggie stayed on the field.”.
The coach pointed out that he does not remember how long the event lasted, 26 years ago, but he indicated that it took half an hour for Brown to receive CPR. He also pointed out that football is a competitive sport, but life will always be more important.
“Football is a great competitive sport, unfortunately injuries happen all the time,” said the coach. “It seems that the immediate attentions were good and I am grateful for that, but life is bigger than football”.
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Finished race
After Brown sacked Murrell, the then-23-year-old linebacker saw his NFL career end. The diagnosis was a spinal cord contusion That left him momentarily paralyzed. Thanks to emergency surgery, rehabilitation and a special belt, he avoided using a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Belichick indicated during the press conference that Brown, his former player, is active in youth sports in the Houston, Texas area.