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January 3, 2023 Damar Hamlin news

What we covered here

  • Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, 24, remains in critical condition Tuesday after suffering cardiac arrest mid-game on Monday night, his team said.
  • His uncle Dorrian Glenn told CNN that Hamlin is still sedated – but that he seems to be "trending upwards in a positive way."
  • The NFL said the game between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals will not resume this week and that no decision has been made about playing it at a later date.

10:54 p.m. ET, January 3, 2023

Niagara Falls and Buffalo buildings lit blue in support of Damar Hamlin

Niagara Falls lit up in blue on January 3. WKBW

The US side of Niagara Falls was lit up in blue on Tuesday night in support for Damar Hamlin and the Buffalo Bills.

The falls, which sit on the US-Canada border, were illuminated from 9:00 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. ET, according to a post on Twitter

It's just one of several sites nationwide that adopted the Bills colors after Hamlin's collapse Monday night.

The Buffalo City Hall lit up in blue on January 3. CNN

The Bills' home city of Buffalo in upstate New York, located just 20 miles south of Niagara Falls, lit its city hall blue on Tuesday.

And in Cincinnati — where Hamlin collapsed mid-game against the Bengals — several buildings were lit up blue, including banks and the football stadium.

9:54 p.m. ET, January 3, 2023

Damar Hamlin is always looking out for others, friend says

Damar Hamlin's friend and marketing representative Jordon Rooney described the 24-year-old player as "someone who always looks out for others."

"He’s someone who is selfless. He’s charismatic. He’s super caring. He’s always looking out for others," Rooney told CNN. "It doesn’t matter how he’s feeling, what went on that day, he’s giving himself to others to make sure other people in the room feel welcome, feel appreciated, feel inspired."

After Hamlin's collapse Monday night, a GoFundMe toy drive he organized saw a surge in donations, with more than $5.6 million now pledged by more than 191,000 donors.

Rooney said Hamlin started the Chasing M’s Foundation in college before his NFL contract. He had sponsored a toy drive, a back-to-school program, summer program and summer camp. 

"His foundation, Chasing M’s foundation, really helps to support young people chasing their dreams in Pittsburgh," Rooney said.

10:41 p.m. ET, January 3, 2023

Buffalo Bills player Dion Dawkins praises NFL for postponing the game

A video board reads that the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals is suspended in Cincinnati, on January 2. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins expressed gratitude for the NFL's decision to postpone Monday night’s game following teammate Damar Hamlin's injury.

Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on the field mid-game in Cincinnati. The game was suspended with nearly 6 minutes left in the first quarter and later was officially postponed – an unusual move for a league that often resumes play even after severe injuries.

Dawkins told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday that he's "truly blessed" players weren't forced to keep playing.

"The fact that we did not have to go back out there on that field and play just shows that there is care, and that’s all we can ever ask for is that we get treated as people," Dawkins said. "Because most people just treat us as athletes, and as superstars, and some people like celebrities, but in that moment they treated us like people. And being treated as a person that is cared for, it’s a beautiful feeling. And I’m thankful that I was treated as a person and so was the rest of my teammates because at the end of the day, we are people. And we have feelings, we have emotions, we cry, we hurt. And we have families, and they hurt and they cry. We’re individuals that are imperfect and the world wants us to be perfect, and I’m thankful that the NFL has definitely put us first.”

While wearing a hat emblazoned with the name of Hamlin’s clothing company and charitable toy drive, “Chasing M's," Dawkins described his teammate as a fighter.

He added:

“And he’s fighting, and he’s going to keep fighting. And we know our teammate, and he is one of the strongest guys, so he’s going to keep fighting and he’s going to make it. And he’s just going to keep pushing and keep pushing because that’s what we’re all built for and that’s what he’s been built for.”
7:34 p.m. ET, January 3, 2023

Hamlin's uncle describes football player in the hospital room

Damar Hamlin’s uncle Dorrian Glenn said his nephew is “flipped over on his stomach” in the hospital to help with the blood on his lungs. 

Doctors said that Hamlin is on his stomach to help take the pressure off the lungs, so they don’t have to work as hard, Glenn told CNN on Tuesday.

The next step is to get Hamlin, who is still sedated on a ventilator, to breathe on his own, he added.

4:24 p.m. ET, January 4, 2023

Damar Hamlin still sedated a day after collapsing from a cardiac arrest on the field, uncle tells CNN

Dorrian Glenn, Damar Hamlin’s uncle, speaks with CNN about his nephew's condition. (CNN)

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin still was sedated Tuesday night after he suffered a cardiac arrest Monday during an NFL game, his uncle Dorrian Glenn told CNN outside of the University of Cincinnati hospital.
"I'm not a crier, but I've never cried so hard in my life. Just to know, like, my nephew basically died on the field and they brought him back to life," Glenn said Tuesday.
"They sedated him just to give a better chance for him to just continue to heal better. We are just taking it day by day. It seems like he's trending upwards in a positive way," Glenn said, asking people to continue to pray for his nephew.
Hamlin's heartbeat was restored on the field as staff tended to him, the Bills have said, before he was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Hamlin was resuscitated only once, a family spokesman clarified Wednesday, not twice, as his uncle told CNN on Tuesday.
Hamlin still is in critical condition after the 24-year-old collapsed on the field during Monday night's game in Cincinnati, his team said Tuesday, a stunning moment that left players weeping, praying and embracing as their teammate was taken away by ambulance. Hamlin spent the night in the intensive care unit at the medical center, where he remained Tuesday, the team said.

 “They sedated him just to give a better chance for him to just continue to heal better. We are just taking it day by day. It seems like he’s trending upwards in a positive way,” Glenn said asking people to continue to send prayers for Hamlin.

Glenn said that Hamlin did sustain some damage to his lungs and he’s on a ventilator to help with his breathing and to take some of the strain off of his lungs.

Glenn said both of Hamlin’s parents are by his side and were at the game when he collapsed. 

Editor’s Note: This story had been updated to reflect the number of times Hamlin was resuscitated based on information from a family spokesperson and his uncle. Read the latest update here.
8:06 p.m. ET, January 3, 2023

"We're all devastated": Bills player Dion Dawkins discusses team response

Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins said the team has faced a lot of sadness since teammate Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest Monday and collapsed mid-game on the field.

However, there are "happy spirits" and "happy prayers" for Hamlin, he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday.

"We're all devastated. When things like this happen, it’s a shock to all of us. It’s a dramatically unique thing that has happened and we’re all going through it together and, honestly, the entire world is. Everybody that has seen it, our whole country, every football fan, everybody who’s not even a part of football has seen and heard this story. So we’re all handling it in different ways, but it’s a unique situation.”

He described the moment he realized the severity of his teammate's injury Monday night.

“You kind of look around and you kind of see the medical staff doing their job, and you know when it’s like something minor like someone is down, but they’re sitting up, the guys are moving at a nice pace,” Dawkins explained.  
“But when things like this are going on, like then they’re waving really fast and calling guys on the field and calling for the elite medical staff, that’s when you really realize that something is really, really wrong. And this was one of the first experiences for myself where something like this has happened in this type of way, where it silenced an entire stadium that was at an uproar half a play earlier.”
7:39 p.m. ET, January 3, 2023

Buffalo Bills players and staff still processing what they witnessed Monday night

Buffalo Bills players react after teammate Damar Hamlin was injured during a game against the Bengals at Paycor Stadium on Monday in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

Buffalo Bills players and staff are still processing what they witnessed Monday night when safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on the field mid-game against the Cincinnati Bengals, according to a source within the team.

The Bills didn't land in Buffalo until 3:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday after they watched their teammate need to have his heartbeat restored on the field.

“Everyone is exhausted," the source told CNN.

it comes on top of a series of difficult situations faced by the team, including having to deal with the mass shooting which killed 10 people and wounded three at a Buffalo grocery store in May, the deaths of at least 39 people in Erie County, New York, due to the Buffalo blizzard, having their November home game moved to Detroit and getting stuck in Chicago during Christmas time, the source said.

As for Hamlin, the Bills are in a "wait-and-see mode," including the team's medical staff, the source said.

The Bills have not discussed any specific ways to help the family through this time as they are hoping there will be recovery, the source said.

The team is still determining how it will handle its typical, weekly media availability.

As of now, it is a day-to-day determination. "We will see what the appetite might be for anyone to speak,” the source added.

6:34 p.m. ET, January 3, 2023

All 32 NFL teams change Twitter profile picture to "Pray For Damar"

All 32 NFL teams have changed their Twitter profile pictures to support Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin who suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed on the field during Monday night’s game in Cincinnati.

The profile picture reads "Pray for Damar" along with the number 3, which is the number displayed on Hamlin's jersey.

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