The Courage of Damar Hamlin

On Monday, January 29, the Bills were playing the Bengals. This seemed like a normal game between two of the NFL’s best teams - the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals were driving down the field. Then on a 7-yard short play caught by Tee Higgins, the unexpected happened. First, it seemed like everything was fine. Both players got up quickly. Then Damar Hamlin fell to the ground. At the moment this seemed like a normal injury. But when the medics checked on him, they confirmed Damar suffered from a cardiac arrest. 

Then after a lot of medical help. Damar woke up and asked, “Did we win?” His story put him in the public spotlight. He showed courage by using his name and his story to raise money for kids. His charity that he worked to support was The Chasing M’s Foundation. Which is dedicated to the development, health, and safety of youth through sports. His charity raised $10 million. He also was able to create opportunities for kids to learn how to learn CPR.

Also, Damar Hamlin’s path back to the NFL showed a lot of courage. He was a real-life underdog. After a lot of training, he was able to join the Buffalo Bills training camp. Though he didn't return to his normal position. He still was able to play on special teams. Which is Kickoff’s Punt and Field Goals. Though he was honored and praised. He still presented the training staff with an award at the NFL Honors. Damar represents courage in that way by being there in front of all his teammates and friends from other teams. He still got a lot of hate from NFL players, such as Eli Apple who mocked and made fun of Damar. He was able to return back to his normal position which is a Nickel Cornerback. 

Overall, Damar Hamlin represented courage by recovering from his Injury. He also represents courage by being able to return back to the NFL. Damar's story is pretty amazing, and his story will go down in history as one of the most remarkable ones. His story made him a household name and he was able to use that as a fact to donate to his charity Chasing M’s.