PITTSBURGH — Buffalo Bills fans and people across the country are hoping and praying for Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin.
Hamlin is currently in the intensive care unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
He collapsed on the field during Monday night’s Bengals-Bills game.
Hamlin is 24 years old, this is his second year in the NFL.
Jenna Harner is a sports reporter at WXPI, WHIO’s sister station in Pittsburgh. She covered Hamlin while he played for the University of Pittsburgh.
Harner described Hamlin as a hometown kid through and through.
“He’s an underdog story. A sixth-round pick in the NFL Draft in 2021 and he’s one of the starting safeties for one of the best teams in the NFL,” Harner said.
Hamlin grew up in McKees Rocks, a small borough outside of Pittsburgh.
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Harner said that Hamlin had many offers to play at colleges like Ohio State and Notre Dame but chose to stay close to home.
“He wanted to stay home, he wanted to give back to his hometown, play for the hometown that has given him so much,” Harner explained.
Hamlin continues to support that community.
He hosts free football camps for children in McKees Rocks during the summer and has a charity toy drive he created in 2020 that helps children impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“So many people in Pittsburgh tonight are just hoping for any good news on him just because of the impact he has made,” Harner said.
“Everybody rallies behind these football teams and they feel like it’s one of their own,” Harner said.
Support for Hamlin has come from across the nation and there is no doubt about the ripple effect Hamlin’s injury has had on the sports world.
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