- Hamlin was inactive Sunday upon his return to Cincinnati following his cardiac arrest
- Bomani Jones believes it is wrong for the NFL to describe this event as inspirational
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Damar Hamlin’s return to Cincinnati nearly a year after he suffered an on-field cardiac arrest is best left unmentioned, according to sports media personality Bomani Jones.
The former ESPN and HBO host took issue with the festivities surrounding Hamlin’s presence at Sunday’s Bills-Bengals game in Cincinnati, where Buffalo’s security guards remained inactive, as they have been all season.
The 25-year-old was active on Jan. 2 when he lay motionless on the turf at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati after a tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. Hamlin has since revealed that he suffered from commotio cordis, a rare condition in which the heart rhythm is disrupted by an impairment of the chest. He was resuscitated on the field and taken to the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center, where his life was ultimately saved. Commotio cordis typically has a mortality rate of 97 percent if not treated within three minutes.
Hamlin, dressed in Bill’s sweatpants, led his teammates onto the field in Cincinnati, but Jones felt the ceremony served to distract from the harsh reality of football and the reality of someone almost dying.
“The belief in this game and the way people look at it is so strong that they have to believe they can do something good out of it,” Jones said on his podcast. “I’ll be honest, it’s been almost a year since this all happened and I haven’t really come to terms with where I stand and what I think about it.”
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) warms up on the field Sunday before being declared inactive
Jones didn’t appreciate that the NFL saw Damar Hamlin’s return to Cincinnati as inspirational
“And you keep showing me this…it would be better if we all pretended it didn’t happen.”
Sunday’s return was portrayed by the team, the league and the media as emotional for Hamlin, who dined with 10 UC medical staff and saved his life in early 2023.
He was cheered by fans in Cincinnati, many of whom had watched in horror as his lifeless body was loaded into an ambulance in January.
But while some find Hamlin’s return to the NFL inspiring, Jones sees it as sending the wrong message.
“I recognize that the role of sports in society is to promote values and all those things. “But now that everything has to be turned into a television show, the NFL has to stand up for everything good in every way,” Jones said .
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) hugs Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs on Sunday
“And what they’re trying to do is turn what happened to Damar Hamlin into an inspirational story.”
“There is nothing inspiring about what happened.”
“If there’s one inspiration, it’s first responders and their ability to save someone’s life in these circumstances,” Jones said. “When I hear about Damar Hamlin, I sit there and ask myself, ‘Why exactly am I doing this again?’ ‘Why am I watching this?’
“It was one of the most embarrassing and frankly frightening and disturbing moments I can ever imagine watching a sporting event,” Jones added. “And you know, it was frightening and disturbing because they actually canceled the end of the game.”