Column: The games will go on after Hamlin — they always do
PAUL NEWBERRY AP Sports Columnist
It was a horrific scene, no doubt. A young athlete just getting started on a promising NFL career, seemingly the personification of fitness and health, popping up from a rather innocuous-looking tackle — and then slumping back to the turf.
Naturally, when a traumatic event happens like the one that stopped Damar Hamlin’s heart — not once, but twice — and left him in critical condition, we’re roused to ponder the value of a sport.
Especially a violent one such as football, which has turned many a man’s brain to mush and left so many bodies maimed and broken.
Some parents won’t let their children play football anymore. Some fans say they can no longer bear to watch the physical toll these modern-day gladiators put themselves through for our enjoyment.
Both sentiments are understandable. There are plenty of other sports that kids can play. There are plenty of other ways to enjoy a Sunday afternoon in the fall that don’t require watching the carnage of the NFL.
But anyone who suggests this is a precarious moment for America’s No. 1 sport, that somehow we’ve crossed a Rubicon leading to its slow, inevitable downfall, simply hasn’t been paying attention.
Tragedy and death are a part of all sports, as intertwined with the games we play and cheer for as life itself.
There is nothing to suggest this time will be any different.
The NFL already has endured massive criticism for doing its best to ignore the awful toll of repeated concussions, its protocols called into question again this season, yet hasn’t seen its popularity wane in the the least.
Football’s hold on America is strong indeed.
When a new weekend arrives, the masses will be back in the stadiums or plopped down in front of their giant TVs — cheering on their favorite teams, barking at those who make a mistake, breaking down potential playoff matchups, incessantly checking on point spreads and parlays and fantasy rosters.
The risks were calculated long ago and determined by the vast majority to be worth it.
“I don’t know how you avoid it,” President Joe Biden said Wednesday. “I think working like hell on the helmets and the concussion protocols, that all makes a lot of sense. But it’s, you know, it is dangerous. You’ve got to just acknowledge it.”
His love for the gridiron hasn’t waned at all. If anything, it’s gotten stronger. If he could get up from his wheelchair, he would run back out there without hesitation.
“I want to hit somebody. Or give me the ball. I’ll roll to the touchdown,” Gales said during a recent interview, breaking into a big smile.
Any discussion about football’s future is sure to be brushed aside quickly by most fans. The only real hope is that Hamlin’s plight will make those of us on the outside more empathetic to the players of this savage game — a worthy goal, for sure — but even that sentiment figures to fade in short order.
Fumbles must be booed. Interceptions must be heckled. First-round busts must be taken to task.
“I’ve gotten up here and I’ve talked about how these young men deserve everything they’ve got,” New York Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “We know what they do every day. We know how hard it is to play this game. And it’s not just playing the game of football, it’s all the preparation and how much their bodies hurt, every day.”
Roughly five decades ago, just as the NFL was establishing itself as America’s new national pastime, a diminutive Detroit receiver named Chuck Hughes collapsed on the field while trotting back to the huddle in the closing minutes of a game between the Lions and the Chicago Bears.
Many thought he was dead as soon as he hit the turf, though that wouldn’t be made official until he arrived at a nearby hospital and all efforts to revive him had proven unsuccessful. Turns out, he was suffering from major heart disease that had gone undetected. He was only 28 and remains the lone player to die in an NFL game.
Even in that era before the internet and social media and Red Zone, Hughes’ death was a jarring event that sent an entire nation into mourning. President Richard Nixon even sent a letter of condolences to the player’s widow.
“Never, ever in the wildest moments would you ever believe a thing like this could happen,” Lions owner William Clay Ford would tell the Detroit Free Press as he choked back tears. “It’s just inconceivable.”
But Hughes’ death did nothing to slow the NFL’s enormous growth. And while Ford’s words are just as applicable today when talking about Hamlin’s fight to survive, the grim truth is that things like this do happen, across all sports.
Several cyclists have perished while tackling the Tour de France. Countless race car drivers — including mammoth stars such as Ayrton Senna and Dale Earnhardt — have lost their lives in high-speed crashes. Boxing has extracted a horrific toll from those who step in the ring.
Death has even come to those in the stands. Thirteen-year-old Brittanie Cecil was killed by a deflected puck that struck her in the temple while she was watching a Columbus Blue Jackets NHL game in 2002.
Each sport stopped for a moment to grieve after those unthinkable tragedies, some of which even led to much-needed safety improvements such as protective netting going up behind the net in all NHL arenas.
Then the games went on.
They always do.
Column: The games will go on after Hamlin — they always do
Peter Dejong
The scene in Cincinnati was in some ways reminiscent of what Denmark soccer player Christian Eriksen went through during his team’s appearance at the European Championship in June 2021. He collapsed in the 43rd minute of a match against Finland, with doctors later revealing how incredibly close he came to death.
Several medics worked frenetically to give Eriksen chest compressions while his teammates choked away tears and formed a circle around the midfielder to shield the scene from public view. A defibrillator was needed to restart his heart.
That game eventually resumed after a delay of about 90 minutes. Eriksen recovered and played in the World Cup that was held late last year.
Peter Dejong
The scene in Cincinnati was in some ways reminiscent of what Denmark soccer player Christian Eriksen went through during his team’s appearance at the European Championship in June 2021. He collapsed in the 43rd minute of a match against Finland, with doctors later revealing how incredibly close he came to death.
Several medics worked frenetically to give Eriksen chest compressions while his teammates choked away tears and formed a circle around the midfielder to shield the scene from public view. A defibrillator was needed to restart his heart.
That game eventually resumed after a delay of about 90 minutes. Eriksen recovered and played in the World Cup that was held late last year.
Column: The games will go on after Hamlin — they always do
Matt Stamey
On Dec. 12, 2020, Johnson was playing for Florida in a game against rival Florida State. He scored on an alley-oop dunk with 16:18 left in the first half for an 11-3 lead. The Seminoles called time-out and Johnson went to the Florida huddle with his teammates. As he returned to the court, he was walking toward the midcourt stripe and collapsed, face-first.
His teammates were asked twice if they wanted to continue the game, and decided to do so. Play was delayed, but only briefly.
He spent two days in a hospital in Tallahassee, then eight more at a hospital in Gainesville, Florida, where the Gators’ campus is. The preseason Southeastern Conference player of the year recovered, but never played for Florida again -- except for a ceremonial start 15 month later. He has since transferred to Kansas State and resumed his playing career.
Matt Stamey
On Dec. 12, 2020, Johnson was playing for Florida in a game against rival Florida State. He scored on an alley-oop dunk with 16:18 left in the first half for an 11-3 lead. The Seminoles called time-out and Johnson went to the Florida huddle with his teammates. As he returned to the court, he was walking toward the midcourt stripe and collapsed, face-first.
His teammates were asked twice if they wanted to continue the game, and decided to do so. Play was delayed, but only briefly.
He spent two days in a hospital in Tallahassee, then eight more at a hospital in Gainesville, Florida, where the Gators’ campus is. The preseason Southeastern Conference player of the year recovered, but never played for Florida again -- except for a ceremonial start 15 month later. He has since transferred to Kansas State and resumed his playing career.
Column: The games will go on after Hamlin — they always do
Mark J. Terrill
Playing for the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 11, 2020, Bouwmeester went into cardiac arrest on the bench during the first period of a game against the Anaheim Ducks.
Athletic trainers from both teams immediately responded, and Bouwmeester eventually received an implantable defibrillator to regulate his heart rhythm. He did not play in the NHL again.
The game was postponed.
Mark J. Terrill
Playing for the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 11, 2020, Bouwmeester went into cardiac arrest on the bench during the first period of a game against the Anaheim Ducks.
Athletic trainers from both teams immediately responded, and Bouwmeester eventually received an implantable defibrillator to regulate his heart rhythm. He did not play in the NHL again.
Column: The games will go on after Hamlin — they always do
PAUL SANCYA
It was the first period of a Detroit game against Nashville on Nov. 21, 2005. Fischer slumped over while seated on the Red Wings bench, and coach Mike Babcock began furiously waving for help.
Fischer had a seizure, fell forward and CPR was quickly administered. His heart had stopped and medical personnel could not find a pulse, Babcock said, before emergency workers shocked his heart and got it beating again.
The game was delayed, then ultimately postponed. Fischer never played again.
PAUL SANCYA
It was the first period of a Detroit game against Nashville on Nov. 21, 2005. Fischer slumped over while seated on the Red Wings bench, and coach Mike Babcock began furiously waving for help.
Fischer had a seizure, fell forward and CPR was quickly administered. His heart had stopped and medical personnel could not find a pulse, Babcock said, before emergency workers shocked his heart and got it beating again.
The game was delayed, then ultimately postponed. Fischer never played again.
Column: The games will go on after Hamlin — they always do
Doug Sheridan
On March 4, 1990, Hank Gathers -- one of the leading scorers in the country -- collapsed and died during Loyola Marymount's West Coast Conference men’s college basketball tournament game against Portland.
Less than three months earlier, Gathers had collapsed during another game and subsequent tests revealed that he had arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat. He was given medication, and the dosage was eventually lowered.
After a dunk in the tournament game, he collapsed near midcourt. Efforts to resuscitate him on court, in an ambulance and at a nearby hospital failed, and he was pronounced dead about two hours later.
Doug Sheridan
On March 4, 1990, Hank Gathers -- one of the leading scorers in the country -- collapsed and died during Loyola Marymount's West Coast Conference men’s college basketball tournament game against Portland.
Less than three months earlier, Gathers had collapsed during another game and subsequent tests revealed that he had arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat. He was given medication, and the dosage was eventually lowered.
After a dunk in the tournament game, he collapsed near midcourt. Efforts to resuscitate him on court, in an ambulance and at a nearby hospital failed, and he was pronounced dead about two hours later.
Column: The games will go on after Hamlin — they always do
DM
On Oct. 24, 1971, Chuck Hughes of the Detroit Lions had a heart attack late in the fourth quarter of an NFL game against the Chicago Bears.
He was officially pronounced dead about 50 minutes after the game, with an autopsy revealing that the heart attack was caused by a massive stoppage in his left coronary artery.
But doctors later said he was essentially dead on the field -- and the closest defender to him when he collapsed, Bears star Dick Butkus, immediately began waving for help when Hughes tumbled to the turf, clearly aware of the severity of the situation.
The game was delayed — reports vary as to how long the delay was — and the final 62 seconds were eventually played.
DM
On Oct. 24, 1971, Chuck Hughes of the Detroit Lions had a heart attack late in the fourth quarter of an NFL game against the Chicago Bears.
He was officially pronounced dead about 50 minutes after the game, with an autopsy revealing that the heart attack was caused by a massive stoppage in his left coronary artery.
But doctors later said he was essentially dead on the field -- and the closest defender to him when he collapsed, Bears star Dick Butkus, immediately began waving for help when Hughes tumbled to the turf, clearly aware of the severity of the situation.
The game was delayed — reports vary as to how long the delay was — and the final 62 seconds were eventually played.
Column: The games will go on after Hamlin — they always do
Bob Wands
Masterton died Jan. 15, 1968, two days after suffering a severe head injury while playing for the Minnesota North Stars against the Oakland Seals. His death was believed to be the only caused by an on-ice incident in NHL history.
The game was stopped while doctors worked on Masterton, then resumed later that night.
He never regained consciousness and died from a severe brain injury. Most players of that era in the NHL, Masterton included, did not wear helmets.
Bob Wands
Masterton died Jan. 15, 1968, two days after suffering a severe head injury while playing for the Minnesota North Stars against the Oakland Seals. His death was believed to be the only caused by an on-ice incident in NHL history.
The game was stopped while doctors worked on Masterton, then resumed later that night.
He never regained consciousness and died from a severe brain injury. Most players of that era in the NHL, Masterton included, did not wear helmets.
Column: The games will go on after Hamlin — they always do
Darron Cummings
A painting that shows the number of Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin is illuminated by candles during a prayer vigil outside University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, in Cincinnati. Hamlin was taken to the hospital after collapsing on the field during an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Darron Cummings
A painting that shows the number of Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin is illuminated by candles during a prayer vigil outside University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, in Cincinnati. Hamlin was taken to the hospital after collapsing on the field during an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
