NFL EVP Clarifies Return to Play Discussion After Damar Hamlin’s Medical Emergency

When Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed in the first quarter of Monday night’s game against the Bengals, the entire NFL world held its breath. Fans across the country feared the worst as they watched NFL players crying on the field while Hamlin was administered CPR and loaded into an ambulance. 

After the injury in real time, ESPN broadcaster Joe Buck said that teams were allowed five minutes to warm up before resuming play. Shortly after that decision was announced, though, the Bills and Bengals left the field and returned to the locker room, as the game officially entered what was called a temporary suspension. It was later postponed, and teams and fans left the stadium.

NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent strongly denied the NFL considered resuming play while on a conference call with media shortly after the incident. On Wednesday, he doubled down on this. 

“I was asked a question about this ‘return to play.’ I feel like I snapped, or I was hasty in my answer,” he said, per Pro Football Talk. “But I just want to be clear. Just that suggestion alone was inappropriate, it was insensitive, and frankly it lacked both empathy and compassion for Damar’s situation, who is still in the woods and is fighting for his life this day. It lacked complete and—it was just so insensitive to think we were even thinking about returning to play. I just wanted to share that because it came up, and I think there’s been a little bit of discussion. I don’t know who said it and I really don’t care.”

ESPN released a statement saying that they were in constant contact with the NFL and said Buck relayed what he was told. 

“There was constant communication in real time between ESPN and league and game officials,” the statement read. “As a result of that, we reported that 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.”