Damar Hamlin – latest casualty?

Last night saw the latest in a long string of athletes suffering sudden heart attacks. Damar Hamlin, 24, safety for the Buffalo Bills, collapsed on the field after a routine tackle. This happened during a Monday Night Football game between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. The Twitterverse exploded into an angry debate within minutes – because everyone knows that the National Football League required its players to take vaccinations against SARS-CoV-2, or face fines. Damar Hamlin, therefore, likely took “the jab.” Is he now suffering from it? You decide.

Damar Hamlin collapse

The first reports came at about 9:19 p.m. EST.

For everyone’s information, officials have suspended the game and pledged to reschedule it for a later date.

Comments, often scathing, came rolling in almost at once. Here’s Laura Loomer:

User Raymond Zino took note that we don’t actually know whether Damar Hamlin took the “jab” or not. But he also took note of the NFL’s policy:

The account for the documentary Died Suddenly, about the spate of people Hamlin’s age (or younger) suffering heart attacks, has this:

Note the sequence: he collided with Bengal player Tee Higgins, then stood up – and collapsed.

That brought a slew of tweets falling under the heading of argumentum ad hominem. But one user, in a since-deleted tweet, suggested another cause: commotio cordis. Commotio cordis happens when someone takes a blow directly above the heart at the wrong moment. Ironically, the reverse of this – the precordial thump – is the first suggested measure to start a person’s heart beating again after he collapses. Training in Advanced Cardiac Life Support emphasizes this measure. But that does not account for most sports reporters not seeing an event like this in twenty years of reporting. Furthermore, at 24, he’s rather young to suffer this condition even after such a blow. And at least one user said the blow Hamlin received was not the type to stop the heart.

Sudden heart attack, or injury?

Most reportage tells of Damar Hamlin collapsing, receiving Cardiac Life Support, and going to hospital. Examples come from National Public Radio, Fox Five Atlanta, and ABC News. But one “live blog” referred to an unspecified “injury” to Hamlin.

The Bengals begin with the ball from the 26.

Mixon runs for seven, then Burrow hits. Higgins for 13 more and a first down.

BUF-D. Hamlin was injured during the play.

The game has been suspended…

At 10:31 p.m. EST came this hopeful report: Damar Hamlin will not die from this incident. His marketing representative said this:

Which is the normal treatment protocol, as at least one doctor attested. So again, Hamlin should survive this. But his is the latest of many reported cases of young, apparently healthy people suffering heart attacks. That he survived was because trained staff responded quickly and had the necessary equipment (including an Automatic External Defibrillator) available. Others are not so fortunate.

The bitter debate comes one week after the release of Twitter Files Part 10, on this very subject. Elon Musk has pledged a further release later in the week.