NFL sportscaster Joe Buck has discussed the experience of having to outline Damar Hamlin’s horrifying collapse on live television.
Buck was calling the game for ESPN alongside his partner Troy Aikman when Hamlin collapsed after clashing with Tee Higgins during the first quarter of the Week 17 fixture between the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills.
Aikman was attempting to praise Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow when Buck cut him off to point out that a Bills player was down. Aikman couldn’t tell who it was at the time, Buck suggested it could be Hamlin. It’s since been confirmed that the 24-year-old suffered a heart attack during the game.
“And that is Damar Hamlin, a big piece of this defense for Sean McDermott. Back after this,” Buck continued after providing some information on the safety.
Speaking to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, the 53-year-old announcer admitted that the whole thing was a blur and he couldn’t recall what he said. But he noted that he tried to say as little as possible given the sensitivity surrounding the development.
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“We didn’t show it, but they were feverishly administering CPR, so we knew the gravity of the situation,” he told Marchand during a telephone interview.
“My natural instinct at that moment is not to talk. That’s the last thing I want to do is to put my words to this serious situation. It’s very counterintuitive as the football play-by-play guy about somebody having CPR administered to him in the center of a stadium with 65,000 people in it and a national television audience. It’s just a weird place to be.
“I think being quiet is OK. Having it being reverent and quiet is OK because the stadium was stone cold quiet and the players were in utter shock.”
Hamlin remains in critical condition, with his family having revealed that the player is fighting for his life in a statement on Tuesday. We continue to hope for a full recovery.
