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NFL fans are constantly reminded of the dangerous nature of the sport they tune in to watch on a weekly basis. However, it’s hard to think of anything that highlights that reality like what transpired during Monday night’s matchup between the Bills and the Bengals.
As you likely know by now, the game came to a screeching halt in the first quarter after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin suddenly collapsed onto the field following what appeared to be a fairly routine tackle. The world was subsequently treated to an incredibly scary scene after medical personnel scrambled to perform CPR before placing him in an ambulance that was rushed to the hospital where Hamlin remains in stable but critical condition as of this writing.
Based on the incredibly emotional reactions displayed by players on both sides of the field, there weren’t many people who expected (or wanted) the game to continue. However, initial reports claimed the NFL had told the two teams they would be given five minutes to warm up before resuming play, which was not exactly the best look for the league (reason ultimately prevailed, as the game was officially postponed around two hours after the initial injury occurred).
However, one high-ranking NFL representative wasted no time coming forward to deny that was actually the case. According to Pro Football Talk, Troy Vincent (who serves as the league’s executive vice president of football operations) spoke with the media and insisted what essentially amounted to a five-minute warning was never issued, saying:
“I’m not sure where that came from. Frankly, there was no time period for the players to get warmed up. Frankly, the only thing that we asked was that [referee] Shawn [Smith] communicate with both head coaches to make sure they had the proper time inside the locker room to discuss what they felt like was best.
So I’m not sure where that came from. Five-minute warmup never crossed my mind, personally. And I was the one that was communicating with the Commissioner. We never, frankly, it never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play.”
That’s ridiculous. That’s insensitive. And that’s not a place that we should ever be in.”
When you consider the virtually unprecedented nature of what transpired in Cincinnati, it’s easy to understand why there may have been some miscommunication with the potential to spawn rumors that turned out to be untrue. However, when you consider there are also reports that suggest it was the teams—not the NFL—that ultimately decided the game was over, it’s also very easy to be skeptical of Vincent’s claim.
At this point, it seems like all parties involved would benefit from some sort of independent internal investigation tasked with producing a report to definitively state what actually went down on Monday night. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if we end up getting one.