The NFL and ESPN have very differing reports about a controversial subject pertaining to the medical emergency that happened on the field during Monday Night Football’s Bengals vs Bills football game.
Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest after taking a hit on the field and is currently hospitalized on a ventilator. He had CPR administered on the field, and the scene was extremely upsetting and shocking for his teammates, fans, and viewers to see.
After Damar was taken to the hospital on Monday (January 2), Joe Buck, one of the game’s announcers for ESPN, said that the teams were given five minutes to warm up and begin playing again.
This immediately caused a ton of controversy as it seemed unthinkable for the players to be able to continue playing after watching the trauma that ensued.
Click inside to read the differing statements…
Troy Vincent, NFL EVP of football operations and former football player himself, claims the “five minute” story line did not ever happen.
“Look, I’ve never seen anything like it since I’ve been playing so immediately my ‘player hat’ went on. How do you resume playing when such a traumatic event occurs in front of you in real time? And that’s the way we were thinking about it, the Commissioner [Roger Goodell] and I,” Troy shared (via TV Line).
“I’m not sure where that [‘five minutes’ messaging] from,” he added. “Frankly, there was no time period for the players to get warmed up. [T]he only thing that we asked was that [referee] Shawn [Smith] communicate with both head coaches to make sure they had the proper time inside the locker room to discuss what they felt like was best.
“It never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play. That’s ridiculous. That’s insensitive. And that’s not a place that we should ever be in,” Troy concluded.
However, ESPN is firing back, claiming they did not make up the “five minute” story line at all.
In a statement, ESPN shared, “There was constant communication in real time between ESPN and league and game officials. As a result of that, we reported what we were told in the moment and immediately updated fans as new information was learned. This was an unprecedented, rapidly-evolving circumstance. All night long, we refrained from speculation.”
Our continued thoughts are with Damar Hamlin and his loved ones. You can read every update on his condition right here.