On Monday, January 2, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest after receiving a hit to the chest during a professional football game. Damar, who was released from the hospital finally today, took the hit and seemingly stood up fine until he collapsed.

Immediately the medical team in the stadium rushed onto the field and administered CPR to Hamlin for ten minutes before he was rushed to a nearby hospital. The game was cancelled and Hamlin spent over a week in the ICU recovering.  

Seeing an injury like this is difficult for all fans, but it’s even more real to football players at every level around the nation.  Greeley West is no different, and current players acknowledged that they know the risks when they sign up to play.  

Sophomore Miles Segura said the injury does worry him a bit.  “It shows the real dangers of football and how dangerous it is,” Segura said.  “What seems like a simple hit can go horribly wrong.”

Senior Jude Colombe said that it really didn’t change his mind on football because players learn to avoid injuries of Hamlin’s nature.  “The tackle itself is what I imagine put him in that position,” Colombe said.  “If you can tackle with correct form you can avoid an injury like that.”

Like Segura, Colombe knows it could happen to him or his teammates.  “It was a scary and unfortunate injury, but that’s the risks you take when playing the sport,” Colombe said.