CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins said he’s “in a good place right now” after hearing about his improvement from Damar Hamlin’s mother on Thursday.
Higgins was involved in the attack That came just before Buffalo Bills safety went into cardiac arrest on the field during Monday night’s game. Doctors say Hamlin did “notable improvement” in the last 24 hours.
“Obviously it’s been hard just because you know I had something to do with the game (and) whatnot,” Higgins said in his first public comments since Hamlin collapsed and the game was suspended. But “everyone made me feel whole again . I’ve spoken to his mom and everything is fine, he’s fine so I’m in a good place right now.
Higgins said Hamlin’s mother told him, “She’s thinking of me and praying for me and things like that.
“And suddenly she tells me that he’s fine. And just all the positive things,” said the third-year wideout. “I mean, it feels good just to know that he’s fine, he’s better, and it makes me feel better inside.”
Higgins said it took him a stroke or two after Monday night’s play to realize something was seriously wrong. Replays showed Hamlin getting up after attacking Higgins and falling straight backwards a few seconds later.
“Being a football player, I think it just flopped, one of my guys bumped it,” Higgins said. “I just saw autumn. I looked again and I saw what had happened and I just turned my head and tried not to think about it. So I knew it was something crazy and something tragic.”
Medical personnel used CPR and defibrillation to get Hamlin’s heart working again. An ambulance rolled onto the field and he was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
“You know, it was hard[to watch],” Higgins said. “Obviously (I) wasn’t in a good position to play the rest of this game, so I’m kind of glad we decided not to play.”
As the Bengals prepared for their next game 700 kilometers away, the Bills turned to reporters Thursday for the first time since the horrific scene.
As a 37-minute press conference featuring Buffalo coach Sean McDermott and quarterback Josh Allen ended, Allen remained seated and said he specifically wanted support for Higgins.
“I want to say something else: I did not turn to tea. I hope he got some relief today. I’ve seen some on Twitter. And people shouldn’t attack him at all. And I’m glad Damar’s family came out and said that. And hopefully he found some relief today. Because this is a football game. And I hope he doesn’t keep it to himself because there is nothing else he could have done in this situation.”
Back in Cincinnati, Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd said he knew something was wrong when he tried to speak to Hamlin after he collapsed.
Boyd and Hamlin both grew up in the Pittsburgh area and played college football in Pitt.
“I tried to talk to him but he didn’t give me anything,” Boyd said. “And when I saw that, and then (I) was just shocked. But it hasn’t hit me yet, you know, because this is a football game. But when everyone passed, things got serious. It kind of touched me, man, you just can’t take things for granted. You know, no matter who we play, that’s my brother, no matter what.
Higgins said it was an emotional release to return to training on Wednesday and Thursday. The Bengals host the Baltimore Ravens in the regular-season finals on Sunday.
“It’s hard to forget, but at the end of the day we are professional footballers,” he said. “We have work to do, and all you have to do is shift your focus and focus on the Ravens.”
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AP sportswriter John Wawrow of Orchard Park, New York contributed to this report.
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