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Alaina GetzenbergESPN
Damar Hamlin said that he would “eventually” like to get back on the football field after he suffered cardiac arrest in the first quarter of the Buffalo Bills’ regular season game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2.
“Eventually. That’s always the goal, like I said, as a competitor, you know, I’m trying to do things to keep advancing my situation,” Hamlin told Michael Strahan in an interview that aired on Fox during the Super Bowl LVII pregame show. “But I’m allowing that to be in God’s hands. I’m just thankful he gave me a second chance.”
Hamlin has continued to recover and progress since he was discharged from the hospital on Jan. 11. The interview was Hamlin’s first since his medical emergency; the full sit-down is set to air on ABC during “Good Morning America” on Monday morning.
The Bills safety collapsed on the field at Paycor Stadium after tackling wide receiver Tee Higgins and then standing back up. When asked what Hamlin remembers before he collapsed, the 24-year-old took a long pause before answering.
“That’s something I don’t really want to get too deep into the details of,” Hamlin said. “That’s something I’m still trying to work through, you know, why that happened to me.”
Hamlin said that watching the Bills play the Bengals again in the divisional round of the playoffs was “an uneasy feeling” to not be able to have a part in the game.
“It was kind of a feeling of, I wish I could do more,” Hamlin said.
Over the past week, Hamlin has been at various events in Phoenix, including receiving the NFLPA’s highest honor, the Alan Page Community Award, for his work in the community. His Chasing M’s Foundation raised over $9 million in the days after he went to the hospital, with the money largely going through GoFundMe for a toy drive that had an initial goal of $2,500. His foundation received a $100,000 donation with the award.
Hamlin is also in attendance for Super Bowl LVII. He was recognized on the field prior to the game along with the medical and athletic training staff of the Bills and Bengals and some of the staff from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Hamlin appeared on stage at the NFL Honors on Thursday alongside some of those same people who represented the many who played a part in saving his life. As part of his speech, Hamlin thanked everyone on the stage with him and all who have supported him.
“Just processing my emotions and also, I’m a person who, I kinda like my privacy in a way, but this situation kind of just brought me to the light of the world, which is a good thing in a way,” Hamlin said when asked what the toughest part has been, “because I really feel like I can do so much good, and I want to be a good example for communities around the world. There’s a reason behind everything.”