They avoided speculating about Hamlin’s condition and ultimately appealed to the NFL to suspend the game, with Aikman asking, “How do you, as a member of the Buffalo Bills or the Cincinnati Bengals, continue on to play football?”Īs The Washington Post noted, “The broadcast was measured, informative and emotional.”įrom the studio, former NFL players Booger McFarland and Ryan Clark offered their perspectives on what it might feel like to be a player on the field, in that moment – whether as a member of the Bills or the Bengals. But instead of filling the live airtime with rambling commentary and sensationalism, they responded with compassion and care. ESPN’s measured, restrained responseĮSPN’s broadcasting duo of Troy Aikman and Joe Buck, along with sideline reporter Lisa Salters, relayed the scene as it unfolded. In its coverage of Hamlin’s injury, ESPN was, I believe, a sound and responsible broadcaster during one of football’s darkest on-field moments. When crisis strikes sports, however, it is left to the media to report in, around, about and through the moment. As a sportswriter, I have covered many contests as if they were battles, with the language of war interwoven with feats of extraordinary human accomplishment. I am a professor of sports journalism and spend much of my time teaching students how to cover games. Paramedics worked to keep him alive on the field before he was transported to a hospital, where he remains in critical condition.Īs the tragic scene played out, ESPN’s broadcasters and studio hosts were left to explain what was happening in real time, with virtually no information. ![]() Typically, when a player suffers an injury, the media cuts to commercial and returns with replays of the injury – sometimes running it over and over, using every available camera angle, while analyzing what might have happened and the ramifications for the player and team.īut in the case of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who collapsed to the ground after a tackle during the “Monday Night Football” game between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, it quickly became apparent that this was no broken arm or torn ACL.
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