After Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was admitted to a hospital on Monday night, his teammate, and former Minnesota Vikings receiver, Stefon Diggs, was by his side.
Before he landed with the Buffalo Bills in 2020, Stefon Diggs had emerged as one of the leaders of the locker room for the Minnesota Vikings during his five seasons with the franchise.
Diggs’ leadership role has continued during his tenure with the Bills, as he’s been a team captain for the last two years. On Monday night, his natural leadership qualities were on display when one of his Buffalo teammates needed him the most.
"This is my teammate, I have to be here for my teammate." ❤
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 3, 2023
Stefon Diggs' reply to a cop who initially did not want to allow him in the hospital to be there for Damar Hamlin.pic.twitter.com/ZMT38d5lpx
Former Minnesota Vikings WR Stefon Diggs goes above and beyond for Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin
In the middle of the first quarter on Monday night in a matchup between Buffalo and the Cincinnati Bengals, Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed after making a tackle.
The game was stopped as medical professionals had to immediately administer CPR on Hamlin. The Buffalo safety was then quickly taken in an ambulance to a nearby hospital in Cincinnati, where he was given the necessary medical attention.
Since the CPR had to be given to Hamlin immediately, it was done in front of his Bills teammates, members of the Bengals roster, and thousands of fans inside the stadium on Monday night. It was an incredibly shocking event to witness for everyone watching in person and watching at home on television.
Luckily, it sounds like Hamlin is heading in the right direction after what was a very scary situation on Monday evening.
Just spoke with Dorrian Glenn — Damar Hamlin’s uncle — who said his nephew is on a ventilator but he’s improved to 50% oxygen needed after being at 100%. He’s still sedated but main focus is recovering to breathe on his own & healing lungs.
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) January 4, 2023
Full interview on @nflnetwork: pic.twitter.com/lsCSrlrjKf
Hamlin has received an incredible amount of support during the last 24 hours from people all over the world, and, of course, from his teammates.
After the game was suspended on Monday night, Diggs headed straight to the hospital where Hamlin was transported. The former Vikings receiver was reportedly stopped from entering the hospital by a cop at first. However, after others around Diggs informed the cop of the situation, the receiver was allowed in the building to go see his teammate.
It was just the latest example of Diggs not only shining as a leader on the field, but off of the field as well.