“I guarantee you Damar Hamlin will play . . . again”

[Woodman]

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/02/08/nflpa-medical-director-i-guarantee-you-damar-hamlin-will-play-again/

NFLPA medical director: “I guarantee you Damar Hamlin will play . . . again”

In response to a caller who asked whether Hamlin will ever play again, Mayer said this: “I don’t want to get into HIPAA issues, but I guarantee you that Damar Hamlin will play professional football again.”

It’s the first time anyone has suggested that Hamlin’s recovery from a January 2 cardiac arrest would eventually allow him to play football again. And there was no equivocation in Mayer’s response.

With the “if” apparently settled, the next question is the “when.” Could it be as soon as 2023? The fact that Dr. Mayer already knows Hamlin definitely will play again would make that timeline not a major surprise.

[jamze132]

Of course he’ll play again.

[Turf]

I think he will be too big of a distraction and too risky. I don't like it.

[Mace]

Maybe he will and my best to him for it. He's not real good though.

[Typ0]

How does a dr. who understands life and death make guarantees for anyone tomorrow? Not sure I find the statement credible at all on its face it has problems. Glad to hear the positivism about Hamlin but if he plays football is really irrelevant to what is important for him.

[Woodman]

How does a dr. who understands life and death make guarantees for anyone tomorrow?

That is the same question I have.

Why put it out there ...... there's plenty of time.

Don't get it at all.

[kgun12]

A better question might be does Damar want to play again?

[Woodman]

A better question might be does Damar want to play again?
The answer to that question would mean so much more.

Family will play a huge part in it I'm sure.

[Ed]

If an NFLPA director is making a statement like that publicly I would imagine that they have some knowledge that it's Damar's desire and intention to continue playing. If there's nothing preventing a full recovery and him getting back to his normal strength, I would guess he returns to the team next season.

[YardRat]

Best of luck, health and happiness to him moving forward and I hope he can achieve whatever he wants to but if I'm the team I'm adding some pretty strong language to his contract absolving the organization of any future liability before he puts on pads or steps on the field. I've got to believe an event like this has to affect the ability to even pass a physical at least a little bit.

[imbondz]

I think he will be too big of a distraction and too risky. I don't like it.
For about 2 weeks. Then it won’t be a big deal.

[OpIv37]

I think he will be too big of a distraction and too risky. I don't like it.

It'll go away quickly. Remember when Tedi Bruschi came back after all the concussions? In his first game back against us, the announcers couldn't STFU about the situation and it was a huge deal. Then nothing bad happened to him and everyone forgot about by their next game.

[Discotrish]

If an NFLPA director is making a statement like that publicly I would imagine that they have some knowledge that it's Damar's desire and intention to continue playing. If there's nothing preventing a full recovery and him getting back to his normal strength, I would guess he returns to the team next season.

He sounds as confident as Fauci sounded.

[Saratoga Slim]

That is the same question I have.

Why put it out there ...... there's plenty of time.

Don't get it at all.
Cause it allowed the Doctor to get his name in all the papers again.

[notacon]

A better question might be does Damar want to play again?
Everything I have read about this young man points to him coming back to the game with a vengeance.

He is an extraordinary person. And that perception was out in public well before his tragedy.

[kgun12]

Everything I have read about this young man points to him coming back to the game with a vengeance.

He is an extraordinary person. And that perception was out in public well before his tragedy.

I find it funny all the people that are saying hell yes he’s coming back, he wants to (not you notty) you just are reporting what someone said) I remember when we were discussing OBJ and White coming back from an ACL and many people saying how is he going to come back mentally, physically he my be ready but it’s going to be hard mentally. Yet Damar is coming back, he’s coming back with a vengeance. How difficult is it going to be mentally to come back after literally dying on the field and destroying his team mentally as well?

God I hope he comes back, he’ll probably be physically ready but damn it isn’t going to be a sure thing mentally.

[Woodman]

Everything I have read about this young man points to him coming back to the game with a vengeance.

He is an extraordinary person. And that perception was out in public well before his tragedy.

It would be awesome!

[notacon]

I find it funny all the people that are saying hell yes he’s coming back, he wants to (not you notty) you just are reporting what someone said) I remember when we were discussing OBJ and White coming back from an ACL and many people saying how is he going to come back mentally, physically he my be ready but it’s going to be hard mentally. Yet Damar is coming back, he’s coming back with a vengeance. How difficult is it going to be mentally to come back after literally dying on the field and destroying his team mentally as well?

God I hope he comes back, he’ll probably be physically ready but damn it isn’t going to be a sure thing mentally.
When I wrote that "Everything I have read about this young man points to him coming back to the game with a vengeance.” it comes from reading artless like this, published by the NY Times (and others like this) that goes into quite a bit of detail of what this young man is all about, in particular how he effected those close to him before he became a NFL player.

I’ve gifted the article so it can be read in its entry....here are some pertinent excerpts....

On His Way to the N.F.L., Damar Hamlin Was Determined to Give Back (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/02/sports/football/who-is-damar-hamlin-bills.html?unlocked_article_code=IeHdX_qwv8ZuSXD6lFamzl02Mwy139Efo539OkskfgQ89lD544EWguO99THJ4BxsoEEhTT-xYXrA5PnN6rJ9tEztU3wSALGjaTGRX-pVxZZsyEyfmtqvjfxM1k3Mwh_DM21DmRaGBxcO4E6VTGXx1zw8ZXmA0D5BlbrjaYHi8FcL299zNuTk3XuKg7XZ3J17E_LkAP8zdoKVheKdwVa18auInCa7nENibtpVSRzk1bfwfV0zUCYP_cwWZZMK5VFAhADftj6vtcINZoZNh-uu2P0tdpAqIzClkyGaIUQZCqsSpTEObA0Io28-fCsWj_jrMgJGDv4lCHwhZVNzuJRAUalr1vBFqfus26ON&smid=share-url)

Hamlin, a Buffalo Bills safety who went into cardiac arrest during a game Monday night, asserted himself as a leader in high school — and kept going back to help others after he graduated. (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/02/sports/football/who-is-damar-hamlin-bills.html?unlocked_article_code=IeHdX_qwv8ZuSXD6lFamzl02Mwy139Efo539OkskfgQ89lD544EWguO99THJ4BxsoEEhTT-xYXrA5PnN6rJ9tEztU3wSALGjaTGRX-pVxZZsyEyfmtqvjfxM1k3Mwh_DM21DmRaGBxcO4E6VTGXx1zw8ZXmA0D5BlbrjaYHi8FcL299zNuTk3XuKg7XZ3J17E_LkAP8zdoKVheKdwVa18auInCa7nENibtpVSRzk1bfwfV0zUCYP_cwWZZMK5VFAhADftj6vtcINZoZNh-uu2P0tdpAqIzClkyGaIUQZCqsSpTEObA0Io28-fCsWj_jrMgJGDv4lCHwhZVNzuJRAUalr1vBFqfus26ON&smid=share-url)



Inside the stone walls of Pittsburgh’s Central Catholic High School, where students at the all-boys school must stash their phones in lockers and ties and collared shirts are required, it is easy to forget that the adjustment to such a place would be challenging for some teenagers.

Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety who collapsed during a game on Monday night, never did.

After he graduated and played football at the University of Pittsburgh, and then matriculated to the N.F.L., where he earned a spot in the Bills’ lineup as a defensive back, Hamlin regularly returned to Central Catholic.

He spoke at youth football camps, letting middle schoolers know what lay ahead, and pulled aside players who aspired to follow in his footsteps but needed direction.

Wherever he lent a hand — talking to young athletes, visiting with kids at his mother’s day care center, launching a holiday toy drive for those who grew up with a bit less — Hamlin surely saw a little of himself.


….snip….


Hamlin was driven by two desires growing up, in McKees Rocks, Pa., a hard-luck but tight-knit community on the south bank of the Ohio River: making it to the N.F.L. and helping others along the way.

“I’ve said the word ‘steady’ about 106 times today,” Terry Totten, his coach at Central Catholic, said in a phone interview Tuesday. Like many who were interviewed, he described Hamlin as reserved, serious and blessed with a warm smile that he used judiciously.

“Whether it was adversity or high times, working for his charity, or helping an athlete or student of lesser caliber. Whatever it was, he was steady, calm and confident in himself. A true leader by example. He’s an incredible person.”


As Hamlin chased his dream of playing in the N.F.L., he caught the eye of the football greats in his city, including Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin and the former All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis, who grew up in nearby Aliquippa. Pitt Coach Pat Narduzzi called Hamlin “a hero to thousands of Pittsburgh kids” in a statement Tuesday.


“I’ve known that guy probably since he was about 12,” Tomlin said at a news conference Tuesday. “I’ve just got a lot of respect and love for him as a human being, his commitment to the pursuit of his goals and dreams of doing what he is right now, which is playing in the N.F.L.”



…snip….


Hamlin was shaped by his experience growing up in the Rocks. When he was 12, his father, Mario, served nearly four years in prison for selling crack cocaine, and in the ensuing years he lost several friends and former teammates to violence. One of his close friends from high school, Jamain Stephens (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/23/sports/ncaafootball/college-football-death-jamain-stephens.html), who played football at California University, died from complications from the coronavirus.

As his father’s sentence began, Hamlin went to work with his mother, Nina, at the cleaning business his family started. Nina also co-owns a day care center that serves kids in McKees Rocks.

Brinza said that while there was a lengthy list of cousins, aunts, uncles or others looking after Hamlin, his father — a former high-school football player in McKees Rocks — asked him to keep close watch over his son while he was incarcerated. Brinza helped him get the attention of coaches at Central Catholic, where his own son played.

But Hamlin almost didn’t make it past freshman orientation.

On the ride home, Hamlin’s face was buried in his hands, hiding tears. He’d been told he’d have to cut his shoulder-length dreadlocks.

“He said, ‘Big Arch, I’m not going to Central Catholic,’” Brinza said. “I said, ‘Your dad told me I’ve got to take care of you. You’re going. You’re cutting your hair. That’s it.’ Nina, who’s unbelievable, said he’s going to Central Catholic. He’s cutting his hair.”


More…



What I glean from insights like this is a young man who is driven by his dreams and has the kind of “stick-to-it-ness” and unending desire to achieve his goals no matter the obstacles.


You ask a very important questions….”How difficult is it going to be mentally to come back after literally dying on the field and destroying his team mentally as well? “

I suspect that it being “difficult” is what will drive him to succeed even more. To realize his dreams.

I cannot in good conscience doubt for one second that Damar Hamlin will not “come back to the game with a vengeance”


It’s who he is.