In the first half of an NFL football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, in Cincinnati, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) lies on the ground after making a tackle on Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, obstructed from view, as Buffalo Bills linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (49) assists at the end of the play. Hamlin collapsed after rising from the play, and CPR was performed on him on the field. (Photo by Joshua A. Bickel for AP)
By means of Associated Press
Safety Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills suffered a serious injury on Monday night during the first quarter of a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Shortly after tackling Cincinnati wide receiver Tee Higgins, Hamlin went down. About two seconds after standing up, Hamlin seemed to adjust his face mask with his right hand before collapsing backward. His arms landed at his sides on the earth.
He was treated on the scene by emergency personnel, and then an ambulance was sent to a hospital. The match was rescheduled, then put on hold.
RELATED: Damar Hamlin’s collapse on Monday Night Football: What we know and don’t know
Here is a list of a few medical incidents that happened during a game or competition and either caused the competitions to be suspended or postponed:
The situation in Cincinnati was somewhat similar to what Christian Eriksen, a soccer player for Denmark, went through when his team competed in the June 2021 European Championship. In the 43rd minute of a match against Finland, he collapsed; later, medical reports revealed the extreme danger he had faced.
In an attempt to hide the incident from the public, Eriksen’s teammates gathered around him in a circle and choked back tears as several paramedics worked frantically to apply chest compressions. His heart needed to be restarted using a defibrillator.
After a break of roughly ninety minutes, that game was eventually resumed. After his recovery, Eriksen participated in the World Cup in late 2018.
Johnston, Keyontae
Johnson was participating for Florida in a matchup with rival Florida State on December 12, 2020. With 16:18 remaining in the first half, he scored on an alley-oop dunk to give the team an 11-3 lead. Following the Seminoles’ time-out call, Johnson and his teammates headed to the Florida huddle. He fell face-first onto the court as he was making his way back toward the midcourt stripe.
After being asked twice if they wanted to keep playing, his teammates agreed to do so. There was a brief delay in play.
He was admitted to a hospital for two days in Tallahassee, and then for eight more days in Gainesville, Florida—home of the University of Florida. With the exception of a ceremonial start fifteen months later, the preseason SEC player of the year never returned to the field for Florida. Since then, he transferred to Kansas State and started playing again.
BOUWMEESTER JAY
On February 11, 2020, while playing for the St. Louis Blues against the Anaheim Ducks, Bouwmeester suffered a cardiac arrest while warming up on the bench.
Both teams’ athletic trainers arrived right away, and Bouwmeester eventually got an implanted defibrillator to control his irregular heartbeat. He never returned to the NHL as a player.
The match was rescheduled.
FISCHER JIRI
It was November 21, 2005, the first period of a Detroit vs. Nashville game. Seated on the Red Wings bench, Fischer hunched over, and coach Mike Babcock started angrily waving for assistance.
Fischer experienced a seizure, fell to the ground, and CPR was started right away. According to Babcock, after his heart stopped and doctors were unable to find a pulse, they shocked his heart back into rhythm.
The game was postponed after first being delayed. Fischer did not resume playing.
