On Wednesday, Bengals receiver Tee Higgins was backed up by teammates and other NFL players, who said he did nothing wrong on the play that caused Bills safety Damar Hamlin to collapse.
Tee Higgins, according to NFL players, did not cause Damar Hamlin’s injury
Also read: The Bills have issued a statement regarding Damar Hamlin’s injury (Updated: Jan. 5)
After tackling Higgins, the 24-year-old Hamlin’s heart stopped, resulting in the game’s suspension on Monday night.
Higgins used his right shoulder to strike the defensive back in the chest. Hamlin then wrapped his arms around Higgins’ shoulders and helmet and dragged him down.
At first, the play appeared routine, but Hamlin rose to his feet before collapsing backward.
Medical personnel on the scene were able to restart his heart. Hamlin is still in critical condition at a Cincinnati hospital. According to the team, his condition has improved slightly.
“There’s nothing you can do about that hit,” quarterback Joe Burrow said after the Bengals’ first practice since the incident on Wednesday. “That hit happens on every play of every single game. That’s the scary part about it.”
Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons reacted angrily to ESPN’s suggestion that Higgins was partially to blame for lowering his head and “throwing his body” into Hamlin’s chest after catching a 13-yard pass.
“Are we serious?!? “Why do we let some people speak on TV?!,” Parsons responded to Scott’s remarks on Twitter. “This was a freak incident but putting fault on another player is wild!!”
Tyler Boyd, a Bengals receiver, responded to Scott more bluntly, tweeting, “straight bozo.”
“It’s just what happens sometimes,” Reader explained.“You can’t take your foot off the gas as a defender or an offensive player out there. If you’re playing lightly, you’re going to take your risk of getting hurt. It’s the only way to play this game. You got to play 100 miles an hour, and that’s how you go about it.”
Read more: A friend provided updates on Damar Hamlin’s injury status (Updated: Jan. 5)
Extreme violence, according to Bears center Sam Mustipher, is part of the NFL deal.
“Football is a game where you want to impose your will on another man,” Mustipher explained. “And I’m sure you know [Higgins] thought, ‘I’m lowering my shoulder, knocking it forward, finishing a run after a catch.’ And that happens. You know, I hope his mental is good, he’s doing all right. You know, there is a lot of emotion and passion in this game. Yeah, I can’t imagine what he is feeling right now.”
A spokesman for the Hamlin family, Jordon Rooney, has called for “rallying around like people like Tee Higgins” outside the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.You know, like he needs support.”
According to Burrow, Higgins, who was not available to reporters on Wednesday, is handling the situation as best he can.
“Tee’s doing well. He’s pretty shaken up, just like all of us,” Burrow stated. “We’ve never seen anything like that, and unfortunate as it is, that’s part of the game and something that you hope never happens, but as we saw on Monday night, can and will happen.”
“My communication with Higgins is that he’s doing OK,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said.
