Pitt, Central Catholic communities rally in support of ‘role model’ Damar Hamlin
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Other than Damar Hamlin’s quick reaction to a completed pass, there was nothing special about his tackle of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins.
A legal, textbook tackle that looked like any other. Hamlin has 91 of them this season, second among Buffalo Bills defenders.
“I’m sure Damar has made that play 1,000 times in his career,” former Pitt teammate Reggie Mitchell said.
But there was nothing normal about this hit.
“Broke my heart,” former Pitt teammate Therran Coleman said. “I watched the video. I wish I didn’t.”
Added Cincinnati Bengals long snapper Cal Adomitis, a teammate of Hamlin’s at Central Catholic and Pitt who was witness to the drama unfolding in front of his eyes Monday night on the floor of Paycor Stadium: “It seems a step outside of reality. I felt like it wasn’t real.”
But it was all too real.
After stopping Higgins at midfield, Hamlin stood up, adjusted his face mask and almost immediately collapsed and went into cardiac arrest. He remains in the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in critical condition, Bills officials said Tuesday.
What’s happening?
At about the same time, John Petrishen’s plane was landing in Florida after he spent the holidays with family in Lower Burrell. Petrishen was getting ready to resume workouts with a personal trainer while pursuing a career in professional football.
“When I landed, I turned my phone on,” said Petrishen, also teammates with Hamlin at Central Catholic and Pitt. “And my phone was just blowing up. I had about 200 text messages. People were telling me that they were praying for me, asking me how I’m doing. I’m fine. I don’t know what’s going on.”
Word quickly spread from Cincinnati to the campuses of Pitt and Central Catholic, where Hamlin had led the Vikings to the 2015 PIAA championship.
Petrishen said he heard from several Pitt teammates — quarterback Kenny Pickett and tight end Lucas Krull among them — along with coach Pat Narduzzi.
Please keep praying, don’t stop ???????? pic.twitter.com/ywxI22oWDl
— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) January 3, 2023
Back home, former Central Catholic coach Terry Totten, who retired about a month ago, found himself drawn back to the school in Oakland on Tuesday to share stories and prayers for Hamlin, who graduated in 2016.
“I’ll only tell one short football story,” Totten said, “because today is not about football.”
In Week 3 of the 2015 season, Central Catholic had lost by a touchdown to rival North Allegheny, a game Totten still says his team should have won. Hamlin’s response in the days after that loss is what stuck with Totten.
It was the kind of game that could have left a high school team discouraged, but Hamlin had no time for sulking.
“I get here at about 10 minutes before nine for a 9 o’clock football practice, and he has the team suited up on the field stretching already,” Totten said. “He just didn’t like losing. We didn’t lose again the rest of the way, and we won the 2015 state championship.
Standing ovation for Damar Hamlin at The Pete pic.twitter.com/t7UKBnl64g
— Jerry DiPaola (@JDiPaola_Trib) January 4, 2023
“That revealed the kind of check he had on this football team in that locker room.”
‘Something was different’
What was shocking about the play that put Hamlin in the hospital was how most people did not give it a second thought.
“Really didn’t even notice it was Damar who was down originally,” Adomitis said. “Confusing, across the board. It was tough to see what was happening.”
Then, he started hearing Bengals teammates coming off the field, mumbling things that sounded troubling.
“I wasn’t sure I heard them correctly,” Adomitis said. “Something was different. It was not your typical injury.”
Finally, he spoke to Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd, another Pitt product, who gave him the bad news: Hamlin was unresponsive.
After medical personnel administered CPR and used a defibrillator on Hamlin’s chest and an ambulance was summoned, the situation came into focus.
“More than anything, it was shock,” Adomitis said. “That’s everyone’s worst nightmare. You never actually expect anything like that to happen in the course of a game.”
After the game was postponed, Adomitis and his brother went to the hospital to offer support.
“We just dropped by and waited in the parking lot, talked to one of the security guards,” he said. “Understandably, they had things pretty tightly locked down. We said a couple prayers and headed back to my apartment. It was until this morning (Tuesday) when I woke up (and said) ‘What even happened last night?’ ”
When Coleman heard the news, he thought back to his childhood when he and Hamlin were working with the same trainer at the age of 7, he said.
“We grew up around each other,” said Coleman, who played defensive back at Pitt. “Energetic, really how he is now, always taking care of people, always trying to give back, always trying to help, always had a big smile.
“He makes you want to listen to him, makes you want to respect him.”
The incident was especially meaningful to Coleman, who suffered severe dehydration during his senior season at Brashear.
“Full-body cramp (from calf to neck),” he said. “My kidneys were shutting down. I had blood in my urine. I had to get three IVs overnight. Seeing him go through something, playing the game that we both love where he could have lost his life as well, just as I did, it was really impactful for me.”
Yet Coleman said the game’s lure is difficult to ignore.
“If you’re not playing reckless, don’t even step on the field,” he said. “You see how we play. Damar, (Jordan) Whitehead, that’s how we play. That’s Western PA. You grow up seeing it played like that. That’s the only way you know.
“No matter how dangerous and scary it is, it (doesn’t go away).”
Added former Pitt wide receiver Dontez Ford: “Everyone knows, especially in the NFL, the injury rate is sky high, if not 100%. It’s one of those things you know going in. You just have to hope you don’t get these worst-case scenarios like the one we’re seeing here.”
Teammates again
Petrishen has known Hamlin since early in their time at Central. When Hamlin came to Penn State on recruiting visits, he stayed with Petrishen, who is a year older. When Petrishen transferred to Pitt, they became teammates again.
Limited by injury as a freshman in 2016, Hamlin went on to start 40 games from 2017-20 and was named a second-team All-ACC safety in 2020, his senior season.
“He wasn’t so much the vocal leader, but he was somebody you could always look at,” Petrishen said. “He did everything with great effort, a great attitude and to the best of his abilities. Someone you could look at and know exactly what you’re going to get from him. Somebody you could always count on as a teammate and you know you’re going to get the best out of him. If you wanted to look for the right way for something to be done, you could look for Damar.
“I like that you’re doing a story on the person, not the player. In situations like this, people tend to forget underneath the helmet and jersey is a human. Damar is a great human being, a supportive friend, a hard-working person. He’s a great example and a role model.”
He wanted to stay home
Mitchell was a senior during Hamlin’s freshman year, but he still knew his friend as well as anyone.
“When he was coming out of high school, he had offers from everywhere,” Mitchell said. “The big story around him was he decided to stay home. His reasoning was just because he wanted to be an inspiration to the city. He wanted to prove to people, like his little brother who was growing up with him, that you can stay in Pittsburgh and still achieve your dreams and become somebody.
“When you’re growing up in Pittsburgh, you have this feeling that you have to leave and go to a bigger city like a New York or Chicago or Atlanta in order to achieve your dreams. He was one of those guys who was persistent about making it and staying in Pittsburgh.
“That speaks to his character, speaks to the type of guy he is, speaks to how much he loves the city overall.”
Adomitis said refocusing on football — whenever it’s the appropriate time — will be a challenge.
“But we’ll just keep praying for Damar and trust in God,” he said.
#Titans Rashad Weaver reflected on time in college with Bills safety Damar Hamlin. They were teammates at Pitt. He offered these words then broke down in tears. The brotherhood from football is unlike any other in sports. pic.twitter.com/K5XniJBoRX
— TURRON DAVENPORT (@TDavenport_NFL) January 3, 2023