Steelers’ Alex Highsmith apologizes for CPR’s sack celebration and says the apparent nod to Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest was “unintentional” as he insists he “don’t want people to think of me that way”.
- Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith has apologized for his “CPR” sack celebration
- Highsmith fired Deshaun Watson just to celebrate by pretending to get CPR
- The scene evoked images of Bill’s safety Damar Hamlin going into cardiac arrest on the field
- Highsmith said the apparent reference to Hamlin was totally unintentional
- Click here for all your latest international sports news from
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith has apologized for celebrating a sack in Sunday’s season finale by pretending to receive CPR from a teammate.
Football fans were outraged to watch the post-sack celebrations following Buffalo Bill’s safety Damar Hamlin’s on-field cardiac arrest in Week 17. Hamlin has made a remarkable recovery since he was resuscitated on the Cincinnati lawn on Jan. 2 and is now hospitalized at a Buffalo-area hospital, where doctors continue to be encouraged by his progress.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Highsmith apologized and said he hadn’t made the connection between his celebration and Hamlin’s ordeal days earlier.
“I just don’t want people to think of me like that and think I’m doing anything [intentional]’ said Highsmith, as quoted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Because I never, ever, ever, ever want to do that on purpose, and I never, ever would.”
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith has apologized for celebrating a sack in Sunday’s season finale by pretending to receive CPR from a teammate
Speaking to reporters Monday, Highsmith apologized and said he hadn’t made the connection between his celebration and Hamlin’s ordeal days earlier
“I just want people to know that I have nothing but love for Damar and his family,” he continued. “When that happened, I was devastated for a few days. Me and my wife, we watched the game, we saw it right away and started praying on purpose, praying on purpose for him, his parents, the doctors, the nurses.
“Because you and I are both followers of Christ. We both believe that prayer is powerful and I am just grateful for the wondrous work that God did in Damar’s life. I just want people to know that it wasn’t on purpose. It was never planned. None of them.’
While it was Highsmith who pretended to be resuscitated on the field, there was some confusion over the Steelers player pretending to perform chest compressions on his teammate. Though video from the celebration is inconclusive, some distinctive bracelets worn by Steelers defensive end Demarvin Leal suggest he was the culprit.
The team’s spokespersons did not respond to ‘s request to identify the player.
The Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin is being evaluated after suffering cardiac arrest on January 2nd
A similar sack celebration is featured in animation for EA Sports’ video game Madden, but the company has vowed to remove it after Hamlin went into cardiac arrest.
On Sunday, football fans on CBS took notice immediately, and many took to social media in outrage.
“I’ve lost all respect for this team. If Mike Tomlin doesn’t address this despicable act he will lose my respect too,” one said, while another wrote: “Not a good look Steelers, not even close! Unprofessional and disgusting.”
Another wrote: “What the heck was that CPR celebration from that Steelers player?!”
Another fan said: “Nice to see the Steelers pay tribute and show love to Hamlin by doing a CPR celebration on this sack.”
Hamlin, 24, has shared the first picture of himself from his hospital bed in Cincinnati