The 30-yard line at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo has a stylized number 3 in support of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who remains hospitalized after suffering a cardiac arrest and collapsing during a game Monday night .
John Minchillo/AP
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John Minchillo/AP
The 30-yard line at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo has a stylized number 3 in support of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who remains hospitalized after suffering a cardiac arrest and collapsing during a game Monday night .
John Minchillo/AP
The NFL is entering the final Sunday of its regular season, less than a week after a shocking on-field injury shocked players and fans and prompted an outpouring of well-wishes from across the country. .
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin remains hospitalized after collapsing during Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Hamlin, who suffered cardiac arrest after a tackle, is “making continued progress” but remains in critical condition, said the team on Saturday.
Players and coaches from all 32 NFL teams had pledged to wear “Love for Damar 3” shirts during pregame warmups this weekend, commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement on Saturday.
“Seeing the entire NFL family — teams, players, coaches, and fans like you — come together was yet another reminder that football is family: human, loving and resilient,” Goodell added.
The Buffalo Bills, who were scheduled to face the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon in their first game since Hamlin’s collapse, posted a video tribute to Hamlin on social media and wrote in a separate post: “Today is for 3.”
It wasn’t just Hamlin’s own team that paid tribute to the injured safety.
The Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans took a knee as a group before the log[batag[Thursday-Saturday[batag[homis-SibtParticipants from several teams throughout the league they wore the shirt no. 3 of Hamlin before the respective parties of[halaturijata’appo;;Anke[homb[alaturijata’appo;;AnkeESPN reporters turned their microphone flags upside down during broadcasts to make their ‘E’ logo look like a ‘3.’
Hamlin took to social media Saturday in his first public statement since his collapse to thank fans for their words and gestures of encouragement.
“Putting love into the world comes back 3xs as much…grateful for everyone who reached out and prayed,” he said. “This will make me stronger on the road to recovery, keep praying for me!”
Still, despite Hamlin’s recovery so far, the incident served as a reminder to players about the physical risks involved in the sport.
“You put in all this work for months to try to go out there and play your best football,” Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said before his team’s game on Saturday. “But when you go into that field, I’m sure it’s going to be a little bit of a strange feeling because it was such a scary incident. That was scary.”
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said he and his teammates were blessed to be able to play professional football, but that Hamlin’s injury was a reminder that “this game is a dangerous sport.”
Howard Bryant, a sports commentator with Meadowlark Media, told NPR’s Weekend Edition on Saturday that Hamlin’s injuries are part of the football he is currently playing[alta’Hamlindejjemikunupartimill-futbolkifqedjintlag[abb[alissa
“What’s the line about football? It’s the one sport with a 100% guaranteed injury rate. The goal in football is to hurt people,” Bryant said. “So when you see something like this, there’s no way out.”
