Damar Hamlin joins Bills to attend AFC playoff game vs. Bengals three weeks after suffering cardiac arrest
Three weeks after suffering cardiac arrest on the field in a game in Cincinnati, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin rejoined his teammates on Sunday to attend their AFC divisional playoff game against the Bengals.
With two minutes to go in the first half, Hamlin appeared on the stadium video board, opening the window to the suite where he was watching the game and making his signature “heart” sign to an explosion of cheers from the Bills faithful.
It was Hamlin’s first appearance in public since the Jan. 2 game between the Bills and Bengals that was suspended and then canceled when Hamlin’s heart stopped beating after he made a tackle on wide receiver Tee Higgins.
After spending a week in the ICU in Cincinnati before coming home to Buffalo to continue his recovery, Hamlin returned to the locker room at Highmark Stadium, with the assistance of security personnel – as the Bills documented on social media.
The CBS pregame show aired a clip of Hamlin riding with two other people in the security vehicle. The network also showed his mother and younger brother in attendance.
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Bills coach Sean McDermott said Hamlin began making regular visits to the team’s facility soon after his release from the hospital in what he described as “dipping his toe back in here and getting on the road to just getting back to himself.”
Contributing: The Associated Press