Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was seriously injured Monday night in the first quarter of a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Hamlin fell shortly after being involved in tackling Cincinnati receiver Tee Higgins. Hamlin stood up, appeared to adjust his facemask with his right hand, and fell backwards about two seconds later. His arms touched the ground at his sides.
Emergency responders attended to him on the field before he was taken to hospital by ambulance. The game was postponed and then suspended.
A list of some in-game or league medical events that suspended or postponed the leagues in which they occurred:
CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN
The scene in Cincinnati was in some ways reminiscent of what Danish footballer Christian Eriksen went through during his team’s appearance at the European Championships in June 2021. He collapsed in the 43rd minute of a game against Finland, with doctors later revealing how incredibly near he was. died.
Several medics worked feverishly to give Eriksen chest compressions, while his teammates swallowed back tears and formed a circle around the midfielder to shield the scene from the public’s view. A defibrillator was needed to restart his heart.
That game finally resumed after a delay of about 90 minutes. Eriksen recovered and played at the World Cup held at the end of last year.
KEYONTAE JOHNSON
On December 12, 2020, Johnson played for Florida in a game against rival Florida State. He scored on an alley-oop dunk with 16:18 left in the first half for an 11–3 lead. The Seminoles called timeout and Johnson went to the Florida meeting with his teammates. When he returned to court, he walked to the midcourt line and collapsed face-first.
His teammates were asked twice if they wanted to continue the game, and decided to do so. The game was delayed, but only briefly.
He spent two days in a hospital in Tallahassee, then eight more days in a hospital in Gainesville, Florida, where the Gators campus is. The preseason Southeastern Conference Player of the Year recovered, but never played for Florida again – except for a ceremonial start 15 months later. He has since transferred to Kansas State and resumed his playing career.
JAY BUILDING MASTER
While playing for the St. Louis Blues on February 11, 2020, Bouwmeester went into cardiac arrest on the bench during the first period of a game against the Anaheim Ducks.
Sports trainers from both teams responded immediately and Bouwmeester was eventually fitted with an implantable defibrillator to regulate his heart rhythm. He no longer played in the NHL.
The match was postponed.
JIRI FISCHER
It was the first period of a game in Detroit against Nashville on November 21, 2005. Fischer slumped over while on the Red Wings bench, and coach Mike Babcock began to wave angrily for help.
Fischer had a seizure, fell forward and was quickly resuscitated. His heart had stopped and medical staff couldn’t find a pulse, Babcock said, before emergency responders shocked his heart and got it beating again.
The match was postponed and eventually postponed. Fischer never played again.
HANK COLLECTS
On March 4, 1990, Hank Gathers, one of the nation’s top scorers, collapsed and died during Loyola Marymount’s West Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament game against Portland.
Less than three months earlier, Gathers had collapsed during another game and subsequent tests revealed he had arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat. He was given medication and eventually the dosage was reduced.
After a dunk in tournament play, he collapsed at midcourt. Attempts to resuscitate him on the court, in an ambulance and at a nearby hospital failed, and he was pronounced dead about two hours later.
PUSSY HUGHES
On October 24, 1971, Chuck Hughes of the Detroit Lions suffered a heart attack late in the fourth quarter of an NFL game against the Chicago Bears.
He was officially pronounced dead about 50 minutes into the game, with an autopsy showing that the heart attack was caused by a massive blockage in his left coronary artery.
But doctors later said he was essentially dead on the field — and the defender closest to him when he collapsed, Bears star Dick Butkus, immediately began to wave for help as Hughes tumbled onto the turf, clearly aware of the seriousness of the situation.
The game was delayed – reports vary on how long the delay was – and eventually the final 62 seconds were played.
BILL MASTERTON
Masterton died on January 15, 1968, two days after suffering a serious head injury while playing for the Minnesota North Stars against the Oakland Seals. His death was believed to be the only one caused by an on-ice incident in NHL history.
Play was halted while doctors worked on Masterton, and resumed later that night.
He never regained consciousness and died of a severe brain injury. Most players in the NHL at the time, including Masterton, did not wear helmets.
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