The Cincinnati Bengals' Week 17 matchup against the Buffalo Bills won't be made up this week due to Damar Hamlin collapsing on the field. The game was suspended after Hamlin collapsed following a tackle he made on Tee Higgins.
On Tuesday, a day when most NFL writers and talking heads were discussing only the incident and not getting into the "how will this game be made up" and playoff scenarios, Bart Scott decided to throw blame at Higgins in a very distasteful manner.
Bart Scott said that what Tee Higgins did was illegal and should've been penalize for lowering his helmet, blaming him for what happened.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 3, 2023
Higgins actually hit him with the shoulder, it was a normal football play. ESPN themselves even clarified it during the show. pic.twitter.com/ruc8HmAEtj
Of course, Scott was criticized (and rightfully so) and it led to Hamlin's family speaking out about anyone who might want to pin things on Higgins.
"“…they were mad. They were frustrated. If you think you’re supporting Damar by bashing Tee, you’re not supporting Damar. …They don’t agree with anything that’s being said. It was a freak football accident that could have happened with anyone at any time. Tee has reached out. He has went above and beyond. All signs point to him being a great human being who genuinely cares and feels bad. The family feels bad that Tee would have any guilt towards this situation.”"Quote courtesy of Chris Rolling
“If you think you’re support Damar by bashing Tee (@teehiggins5), you’re not supporting Damar” — @jordonr
— Rachel Hopmayer (@rachelhopmayer) January 4, 2023
Just caught up with #Bills Damar Hamlin’s close friend and marketing rep outside UCMC. He also clarified that it was a misunderstanding that Hamlin was resuscitated twice. pic.twitter.com/lrvdvVxbSp
People need to lay off Tee Higgins
What happened to Hamlin is terrible but Higgins did nothing wrong. I'm sure the guy is absolutely sick to his stomach about what happened. There's no need to pile on and make a bad situation worse.
The most recent update on Hamlin was from his family friend on Wednesday morning. Coley Harvey tweeted that "doctors overnight got promising readings that they had been hoping to see by this morning." This is good news and we should all continue to keep Hamlin and his loved ones in our thoughts and prayers.
Just chatted with Damar Hamlin’s family friend @jordonr.
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) January 4, 2023
Per Jordon and Damar’s family, doctors overnight got promising readings that they had been hoping to see by this morning. Jordon couldn’t go into specifics, but progress appears to be made.