League rallies to support Hamlin as his condition improves
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. » As a sedated Damar Hamlin lay before him in a Cincinnati hospital bed surrounded by machinery feeding him oxygen and fluids, Indianapolis Colts safety Rodney Thomas provided a few words of encouragement to his friend.
“I just told him, I got him. That’s all,” Thomas said Wednesday. “Just saying the same thing: I got his back and you’re going to get through it.”
It didn’t matter to Thomas whether the Buffalo Bills safety could hear him. More important to Thomas, who made the two-hour drive from Indianapolis to Cincinnati, was being by the side of Hamlin — his former high school teammate in Pittsburgh — and the player’s family.
“It just calmed me down and made that trip home a lot easier,” Thomas said. “I could just go home and I could just know that he’s going to
be straight. I’ve got him. The world’s got him.”
Two days after the 24-year-old Hamlin’s heart stopped and he needed to be resuscitated on the field during a game at the Bengals, an immense outpouring of support continued.
After fans held vigils in Cincinnati and at the Bills home in Orchard Park, New York, on Tuesday, it was time for the NFL community — those who know Hamlin and those who had never heard of him before Monday — to express its support with most teams returning to practice.
Though he’s still under sedation, Hamlin’s recovery from cardiac arrest continues moving in “a positive direction,” the player’s marketing representative, Jordon Rooney, told The Associated Press by phone.
“We all remain optimistic,” Rooney said, adding that Hamlin’s family asked him not to go into further detail.
The Bills said Hamlin was still in critical condition but displayed signs of improvement. They said he was expected to remain in intensive care.
Rooney said Hamlin’s family was buoyed by the words and acts of kindness the second-year player has received since being transported by ambulance to University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
“They are elated right now,” Rooney said. “Damar is still their first concern. But for them, they always look at how they can turn a somewhat troubling situation into a good one. The bounce back from this, for him and his family is going to be incredible.”
The family is quickly discovering how much of an impression Hamlin has made.
New York Giants coach and former Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll wore a cap with Hamlin’s No. 3 on it.
Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Harrison Phillips had dinner delivered to the hospital for Hamlin’s family and medical staff.
“Damar was close to my locker and when I spent my time in Buffalo and helped out with my foundation because of his giving nature,” said Phillips, who spent his first four seasons with Buffalo before signing with Minnesota. “But I was a bit surprised at how many people who have zero ties and zero connections to him or to Buffalo, and how much they’re impacted because we are a brotherhood.”