Humanity triumphed in the face of tragedy Monday night

“‘When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” –Fred Rogers

While we eagerly await updates on Damar Hamlin’s medical situation, we must recognize the overwhelming amount of courageous, uplifting, and inspirational individuals who have shown the world that humanity is bigger than a football game.

Let’s begin with the heroes. The medical staff who ran to Damar Hamlin’s aid immediately after he collapsed onto the field to perform life-saving CPR are the epitome of the word “hero”. The same can be said for all the EMTs in the ambulance, the nurses, doctors and all other medical professionals at UC Medical Center where Hamlin is currently fighting for his life. If these individuals didn’t act as fast and as efficiently as they did, we may be having a different discussion.

Josh Allen and Joe Burrow might be star quarterbacks, but they weren’t the heroes on
Monday night. The men and women who essentially brought Damar Hamlin back to life embody the term and we should all remember that.   

The outpouring of love and support from the city of Cincinnati and the Bengals players and coaches showed incredible unity following the tragic injury. Monday night’s match up between the Bills and Bengals was without a doubt the biggest game of the season, but that all became an afterthought when Hamlin was injured.

Bengals head coach, Zac Taylor, immediately understood the significance of what had happened to Hamlin and the Buffalo Bills team. After the injury, Taylor, when told by officials that each team had five minutes to warm up, met Bills head coach Sean McDermott and both coaches sent their teams to their locker rooms. Zac Taylor’s shunning of NFL officials to see to it that the Bills players and coaches were not emotionally able to take the field shows incredible courage and sympathy for his fellow NFL brethren. Both Taylor and McDermott handled the situation perfectly and did what was best for their teams.

The camera shots of somber Bills and Bengals fans illustrated the magnitude of what was happening on the field. The Bengals faithful understood that a human life is bigger than a football game and when it was announced that the game would be suspended, there was no booing, there was no complaining; there was only solitude and empathy.

Soon after the game was suspended, many Bengals fans joined Bills fans as they flocked to UC Medical Center. Scenes of the ensuing candlelight vigil for an opposing team’s fallen player will forever be a symbol of the human temperament.

It’s apparent that the human sentiment was abundant far beyond Buffalo and Cincinnati.  Hamlin’s charity toy drive has received over $6.8 million in donations from people who just want to feel like they’re somehow helping Hamlin and his family during this time.

Humanity triumphed in the face of tragedy on Monday night in Cincinnati, and it continues to do so as the world keeps praying for Hamlin’s health.