NFL Players Kneel in Prayer after Injury

by Bob Russell, ©2023

(Jan. 4, 2023) — During the Monday night football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills a player, Damar Hamlin, collapsed after a heavy hit as he made a tackle.  CPR was administered, and it quickly became apparent that he was in some serious distress. Doctors rushed to his side and administered CPR for several minutes before an ambulance was brought onto the field to transport him to a local hospital.  As the ambulance left with Hamlin players of both teams gathered at the center of the field and knelt in prayer for the recovery of their comrade. 

The NFL is a very liberal, politically correct organization, yet players took time to pray in front of fans in the stadium and a national television audience.  I salute them for making prayer an immediate part of their reaction.  Hamlin is said to be a devout Christian.

My question is, “How will the ultra-liberal media and other leftists who are so quick to vilify people like me who put faith at the forefront of our lives react to players and coaches actually showing faith openly and unashamedly on the football field?”  Will the ultra-liberal set criticize these players, or will they show their hypocrisy and applaud these athletes for publicly praying?  I hope and pray that the players will be applauded by the leftist creeps for their reaction.  The liberal left is hypercritical of Christians because we refuse to accept their nonsense that goes against biblical teaching.

From the reporting I saw Hamlin is in critical but stable condition at the hospital, and nothing has been determined as of yet.  The contact, from reports of people who were watching, was not that violent.  Hamlin made a tackle, fell, got up, and then collapsed unconscious.  Football is a contact sport that involves hard hits by men who are large and very muscular.  The only time I played football was as a 5th- and 6th-grader so I don’t have the personal experience to comment on the contact at the professional level, but to say it is intense and violent is an understatement.  These players are moving very fast and hit each other with the intent to put the opponent on the ground but not with the intent to injure each other.

The league takes every measure possible to limit injury, but hard contact between big bodies at high speed makes eliminating any possibility of injury impossible.  The league has made rules to make the game as safe as possible, but there is absolutely no way to totally eliminate the chance of injury in a contact sport. 

What happened to Damar Hamlin was a freak incident that could not have been anticipated.  I am not going to try to describe the possibilities doctors have mentioned in the report I saw, as there are many factors they are considering, and even they didn’t try to nail anything down.  Once more is known the information will be released.  The report I saw was very soon after the incident, as a matter of fact within less than 30 minutes, and not much was known at that time other than he was being treated at the nearest hospital.

My main point here is wondering how the anti-God, anti-American left is going to react to the response of players and coaches on the field in the immediate aftermath of a very frightening situation involving a fellow competitor.  Again, I hope and pray that the liberal left that hates people like me so much will stand behind the players and coaches showing their concern in unashamed prayer in public, as that reaction by those most concerned is one of the most encouraging things I have seen in professional sports in a very long time.  I, too, pray that Hamlin will make a quick and full recovery without any lasting issues, that he will be able to get back into the lineup very soon to pursue a career he has worked long and hard to realize.  I can’t imagine anyone being critical of prayer in this situation, but the left never ceases to amaze me in how demented, unreasonable, and evil they can be.  If anyone criticizes the players’ prayer, I hope they will be roundly chastised by others for being so crass.

I received this update in my email Tuesday afternoon.  From reading the report, I am encouraged that his heart is beating on its own but he is still considered to be in critical condition.  I firmly believe the prayers lifted up for him have made a significant difference n his condition.  He will remain listed as critical until doctors are absolutely positive he is out of imminent danger.   My prayers go out to him and his family in the hope he will fully recover very soon. 

I have not seen any negative come out yet but I don’t watch any fake news so won’t know unless I get an email to that effect.

I submit this in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, in faith, with the responsibility given to me by Almighty God to honor His work and not let it die from neglect.