Biden on Damar Hamlin injury: NFL ‘is dangerous. We’ve just got to acknowledge it’
Christian Datoc
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President Joe Biden weighed in on the injury suffered by Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin on Monday Night Football in Kentucky on Wednesday, suggesting the NFL could no longer “avoid” the ugly side of the game.
Reporters asked Biden before he departed for Washington, D.C., if he believes the league is getting too violent, prompting the president to say he doesn’t “know how you avoid it.”
WHITE HOUSE WEIGHS IN ON HORRIFIC GAME-STOPPING INJURY TO NFL PLAYER
“I think working like hell on the helmets and the concussion protocols, that all makes a lot of sense,” Biden said. “It is dangerous. We’ve got to just acknowledge it.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had extended “thoughts and prayers” to Hamlin’s family during Tuesday’s press briefing but declined to “lean into any hypotheticals” regarding the NFL’s handling of Hamlin’s injury Monday night.
After suffering a cardiac arrest in the first quarter, Hamlin was rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where his condition is improving but still critical.
Some medical experts have said they believe Hamlin suffered commotio cordis, wherein blunt force trauma to the chest causes the heart to stop beating.
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The NFL faced serious scrutiny for the length of time it took to postpone the remainder of Monday’s game. Originally, officials informed both teams they would receive five minutes to warm up again before resuming play, but coaches for both teams pulled their players off the field.