The National Football League held a conference call with the media a few hours after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field in the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals Monday.
NFL executives Jeff Miller and Troy Vincent spoke in length with the media on the league’s behalf. Medics administered CPR on Hamlin as players from both teams looked on frantically.
Eventually, Hamlin got transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center after more than 15 minutes. The league later postponed the game after both teams returned to their respective locker rooms.
Vincent said neither head coaches nor any players spoke about resuming the game.
“It was really about Damar,” Vincent said, per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network. “Look, I’ve never seen anything like it, so immediately my player hat went on.”
Vincent added both head coaches took control of their locker room.
“It was fluid, and things were changing by the minute,” Vincent added. “Emotions were extremely high. It was a very volatile situation.”
Through the confusion after Hamlin was taken off the field, there was speculation that the teams would have a five-minute warmup period to resume the game. However, Vincent clarified that there was never talk of a five-minute warmup period or any other timeframe.
“It never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play. That’s ridiculous, that’s insensitive. That’s not a place we should ever be in,” Vincent continued, per Garafolo.
Miller added that the league’s emergency action plan was enacted with Hamlin. Each stadium has one that involves an ambulance at every game and a Level 1 trauma center.
The NFL released a statement late Monday night that Hamlin was in critical condition.
Vincent and Miller did not provide an update. Neither has the hospital nor Hamlin’s agent, Ira Turner.
Whether the game is resumed is unclear. The Bills planned to fly back to Orchard Park, New York. However, some players are staying in Cincinnati.
