Damar Hamlin Admits He’s Not Emotionally Ready To Get Back To Football: ‘I’m Still Working Through Things’
The Buffalo Bills’ safety admitted that physically he’s feeling ‘great,’ but he still has to take some time before going back to football.
It will probably be some time before Damar Hamlin gets back out on the field. The Buffalo Bills’ safety, 24, admitted that he still had a ways to go when asked how he was feeling “emotionally” by Michael Strahan in an interview with Good Morning America on Monday, February 13. Damar revealed that he wasn’t sure when he’d eventually return to the field.
Physically, @HamlinIsland says he is “doing great” but emotionally, his recovery will take longer: “I’m still working through things.”
He tells @michaelstrahan he hopes to get back to playing football “eventually.” https://t.co/4tUkMAz330 pic.twitter.com/a75DArkZuo
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 13, 2023
Damar said the most difficult part about recovering after going into cardiac arrest on the field has been that so few people that he knows have actually experienced what he went through. “I’m still working through things,” he said. “I’m still trying to process all the emotions and the trauma that comes from dealing with a situation like that and not really having people around or no one in my immediate circle who’s dealt with something like that.”
When asked about returning to football, Damar explained that he’d like to play again “eventually,” and explained that medical professionals have left the decision on returning up to him. “[Play football again is] always the goal, but I’m allowing that to be in God’s hands,” he said. “It’s a long road. They’re just worrying about trying to get me back to normal as much as they can.”
While Damar explained that he’s still working through his emotions, the NFL star admitted that in a physical sense, he’s been doing really well. “I’m doing great. Every morning, every night, I take ten deep breaths to myself, and it puts everything in perspective for me,” he said.
Besides how he’s doing Damar also spoke about his effort to team up with the American Heart Association, where he said that he was working with them to get 3 million people trained in CPR and certified. He announced the effort just days after he was given the NFL Player’s Association’s Alan Page Community Award after he raised $9 million for his Chasing M’s Foundation Community Toy Drive.
The interview also aired the day after the Super Bowl, which Damar attended and made an appearance on the field, looking like he was healthy, weeks after the terrifying on-field incident. Ahead of the game, Damar also thanked the medical staff who treated him during a special NFL Honors ceremony days before Super Bowl LVII.