Ravens fans rally around Bills safety Damar Hamlin after he goes into cardiac arrest
BALTIMORE -- Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin remains hospitalized and in critical condition after collapsing on the field during Monday night's football game against the Bengals.
The outpour of support is continuing to come from across the country and in Baltimore.
Many Ravens fans are praying for Hamlin to recover from his injuries.
"Praying—a lot praying—a lot for him," one Ravens fan said of Hamlin. "I hope he's OK."
People are continuing to show their support the day following Hamlin's collapse.
"When I saw it, I thought, you know, it's football. He just a regular injury," Ravens fan Renee Green said. "But once I saw that he wasn't getting a note . . . that was hurtful. Like, oh man, he's really hurt really bad."
NFL football players are reacting as Hamlin continues to fight for his life.
"We're talking about a man who collapsed, who laid breathless, who, unfortunately, is fighting for his life," Indianapolis Colts safety Rodney McCleod Jr. said.
In Baltimore, M&T Bank Stadium was lit up with the colors of the Buffalo Bills.
Meanwhile, the Ravens changed the picture on the team's Twitter account to one that says "pray for Damar" with a "3" to signify his jersey number.
Ravens players like Lamar Jackson, Geno Stone, and Marcus Williams expressed their support for Hamlin online.
"Our lives are on the line when we're out there," Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins told WJZ on Tuesday. "It's a entertainment business and it's fun and all games. It is a game. But we really put our lives on the line."
Dobbins said his mind has been on Hamlin's mother and what she might be going through.
"This was life or death," Dobbins said. "Forget all the standings and all that stuff, 'cause he's a human. I feel like a lot of people, not here, not saying here, but in general, in the sports world, forget that we are human."
Doctors say that Hamlin went into cardiac arrest as the result of a sudden, direct hit to the heart at just the wrong time.
"What we think happens is the hit to the chest is of such force—and at the right timing—that it causes that heart rhythm problem, that it causes the heart to stop beating." UMMC sports cardiologist Dr. Scott Jerome said.
Hours after Hamlin went into cardiac arrest, donations began pouring into his Chasing M's Foundation Community Toy Drive.
By Tuesday night, it had received more than 3.5 million dollars.
Ravens fans like Green say it doesn't matter what color a person bleeds, in the darkest of moments, everyone is on the same team: team Damar Hamlin.
"My heart goes out to him and his family," Green said. "And I hope and pray he comes through and he's doing well."
There was no public update on Hamlin's condition on Tuesday night. Instead, his family released a statement saying that the outpour of generosity and compassion meant the world to them.
