Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was visibly emotional as he stood onstage at Wednesday night’s ESPY Awards, waiting to present the Pat Tillman Award for Service to the team that saved his life.
The award is named for Tillman, an Arizona Cardinal who gave up a career in professional football to serve as a United States Army Ranger and later died in Afghanistan. It was presented on Wednesday to the Buffalo Bills training staff, who rushed to Hamlin’s side when he collapsed on the field and suffered a cardiac arrest during a Monday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals this past January.
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Damar Hamlin presenting the Pat Tillman Award for Service to the Bills' training staff at the @ESPYS is pretty awesome. pic.twitter.com/Lbt5B6yTYF
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 13, 2023
The presentation began with a prerecorded video, narrated by Hamlin, that described what had transpired that day.
“Thanks to their training, their poise and their commitment to serve others, the Bills training staff kept me alive,” Hamlin said. “I didn’t wake up that morning in January thinking that I would need someone to save my life that day, and I doubt that the training staff thought that they would have to do what they did either.”
“That, as much as anything else, is what I took away from what happened to me six and a half months ago,” he continued. “That any of us, at any given time, are capable of doing something as incredible as saving a life, and living a life in service of others. It’s a blessing.”
As the video ended, Hamlin could be seen wiping tears from his eyes. The audience responded by getting to their feet, clapping and cheering as the training staff made their way to the stage.
“Damar, first and foremost, thank you for staying alive, brother,” Head Athletic Trainer Nate Breske said, speaking for the staff. “Seriously, we are so honored to be standing up here with such a strong and courageous human being.”
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