Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin is still fighting for his life after collapsing on the field during Monday Night Football, but if he wakes, he will find that his family is there for him.
Hamlin has been very open about his love of God and family and is a devout Christian in an infamously woke sport.
The 24-year-old player attended a Catholic high school in Pittsburgh, where he first came to the forefront as a top football player. His former school has announced its prayers that he recovers from the cardiac arrest he suffered on the field on Jan. 2.
“Central Catholic High School is praying for the well-being and swift recovery of Damar Hamlin, ‘16. May the Lord be with him and his family during this most difficult time. Hamlin collapsed during the Monday Night Football game against the @Bengals on 1-02-23,” the school Tweeted the night of Hamlin’s medical emergency.
Hamlin is also very close to his family. He has often stated that his father, mother, and brother are extremely important to him.
Sports writer Thor Nystrum, for instance, said that Hamlin chose to attend college at the University of Pittsburgh so he could remain close to his family there.
“I’m extremely close to my family,” Hamlin said in 2021. “Staying close to my family and then having my little brother around so I could be a role model for him [was important to me].”
A vigil is displayed at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for football player Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills after he collapsed following a tackle during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals and was transported by ambulance to the hospital on January 03, 2023, in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
In another interview, Hamlin noted how close he is to his mother.
“My mom, she was sixteen when she had me, and I just try to think about when I was sixteen years old, and I just couldn’t imagine having a little boy,” Hamlin said in 2021.
“It was probably so stressful, but both of my parents had me young, at sixteen, and pretty much since that point, they put everything they had into me to get me to where we are right now today,” he added.
“It was us at first, just me and my mom and my dad, and they taught me hard work. They taught me you gotta work for everything, and basically they just taught me all of the lessons of life,” Hamlin exclaimed.
In another interview, Hamlin noted that he still consults his parents for advice.
“My mom, my dad, my little brother, like that’s pretty much my whole world, outside of any other thing going on; my life revolves around them,” he said. “I don’t really do too much without my mom and dad’s opinion. Whether I take it or whether I don’t … sometimes I just want to hear it.”
Hamlin’s Christian faith is also one of his key motivators.
“My faith is in God. So, whatever He has planned for me, that’ll be it,” he told reporters during his time at the University of Pittsburgh, according to CBN News.
Hamlin’s philosophy for life was neatly encapsulated in a line he wrote on his GoFundMe fundraiser for a community toy drive which has soared to more than seven million dollars in donations since his collapse.
“As I embark on my journey to the NFL, I will never forget where I come from and I am committed to using my platform to positively impact the community that raised me,” he said.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.