Aaron Rodgers Says Watching Damar Hamlin’s Collapse ‘Really F*cked Me Up’
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was shaken after watching Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapse on Monday night.
Hamlin went into cardiac arrest after he made a tackle on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. Emergency personnel administrated CPR before Hamlin was rushed to a local Cincinnati hospital, where he was intubated and listed in critical condition.
Rodgers, in his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, expressed shock at how brutal the scene was to witness on television.
“There’s one thread that connects all of us, right?” the Green Bay quarterback said to Pat McAfee and co-host AJ Hawk, who both had respectable NFL careers. “We know we are the modern-day gladiators. We are providing entertainment for the masses and doing something we love, but we’re also putting our bodies and our future health on the line.”
Rodgers explained the bond that each NFL player shares with one another, and noted that rivalries disappear when something like Hamlin’s collapse happens.
“Whatever it might be that separates you a little bit, that’s all gone when it’s one of your guys,” Rodgers said.
“Whether you’re currently playing or done playing, you’re shook about this because you don’t think you would see something like this on the field,” Rodgers continued. “It’s bad enough when you see a guy getting carted off, right? That messes with you, or you see a guy take a really bad concussion shot, and you’re like, ‘man, I don’t want that to be me.'”
Rodgers, who has won the NFL’s MVP four times, said he worries about his health after he finally retires.
“Am I going to have my cognitive function when I’m 50, 60? What kind of risk am I really setting myself up for? This kid’s 24 years old, right? This really, it fucked me up last night a lot.”
On Wednesday, Hamlin was breathing at 50 percent on his own, and doctors felt his health was moving in a “positive direction.”
Watch above via The Pat McAfee Show.
