WEBVTT - Damar Hamlin update with Cameron Wolfe 0:00:01.680 --> 0:00:04.840 All right, Welcome to Around the NFL. Dan Hans is 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:10.000 here with Greg Rosenthal and Mark Sessler remotely. This is 0:00:10.039 --> 0:00:14.520 obviously our first time connecting with you guys since the 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:20.160 horrible events of Monday night involving Damar Hamlin and um. 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:21.919 We just wanted to talk to you and talk with 0:00:21.960 --> 0:00:24.119 the audience about it. And we're gonna have the great 0:00:24.160 --> 0:00:26.400 Cameron Wolf of NFL Network on and just a bit 0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:31.080 who's at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, getting the 0:00:31.120 --> 0:00:33.519 latest from him and his vibes at what it's like 0:00:33.600 --> 0:00:36.560 to be this close to the story of this magnitude. 0:00:36.600 --> 0:00:39.919 Greggy Uh and Mark, I'll start with you. Gregh. This 0:00:39.960 --> 0:00:43.280 has been obviously one of those stories that you never 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:46.960 forget and we we've all been tracking it minute by minute, 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:51.199 hoping for positive updates about tamar Um. How you doing. 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:56.400 But yeah, it's it's something that when we all watched it, 0:00:56.480 --> 0:01:01.000 I think everyone recognized immediately that never seen anything like 0:01:01.040 --> 0:01:04.400 this on a football field, that it was a life 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:08.200 and death situation in any sort of precedent that you 0:01:08.200 --> 0:01:10.759 saw how teams were handling, how the NFL is gonna 0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:13.800 end up hand handling it, and everything is is different 0:01:13.840 --> 0:01:17.920 because tomorrow, Handlin's you know, young man fighting for his life, 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:21.160 and we've been waiting, you know, to do this podcast, 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:24.520 partly hoping, you know, seeing what the news is gonna be, 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:28.160 and uh, it is encouraging. As we were about to 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:31.320 start taping, the Bill sent out a release that said 0:01:31.319 --> 0:01:33.600 tomorrow remains in the i c U and critical condition, 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:36.480 with signs of improvement noted yesterday and overnight. And yeah, 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:38.479 we'll get into that with with Cameron Wolf who has 0:01:38.520 --> 0:01:43.240 more details and everything. But I do feel like when 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:45.000 it comes to his health, and that's just been the 0:01:45.040 --> 0:01:48.080 focus here, like we're in a better place than we 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:52.760 were Monday night. Yeah, I mean it's it's such a positive, 0:01:53.720 --> 0:01:55.880 uh in situation from a day ago, and I think that, 0:01:55.920 --> 0:01:59.040 you know, everything just was put on holding my my 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:03.880 feeling watching it, Um was so surreal, and I you know, 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:07.360 I have thought back even sort of as it was unfolding, 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:09.560 and you could tell that it was just the length 0:02:09.720 --> 0:02:12.440 of time that they were on the field um attending 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:15.840 to him that you're starting to think, yourself, this is unprecedented. 0:02:15.880 --> 0:02:18.920 I never watched anything like this happen in football. Been 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:22.560 watching football sinceour and it just stood out as something 0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:25.920 completely different, where the game um just faded into the 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:29.280 complete background, into the ether. And you know, this stuff 0:02:29.320 --> 0:02:32.639 that stood out to me was we have an idea 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:35.200 of who, like Josh Allen is right, like he's this 0:02:35.240 --> 0:02:39.440 superstar athlete who does things that um, the human body 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:42.639 just doesn't typically do. And then you're watching the other 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:44.800 side of Josh Allen where like the look on his face, 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:46.800 that just something that will stick with me, just the 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:49.840 look on his face, and like you're realizing, wait a minute, 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:53.160 these guys, UM they live together, they eat together, they 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:55.760 spend all their time together. They know each other's personalities 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:58.640 so well. There their brothers, they love each other and 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:01.800 just like the few line of players watching that happen 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:04.919 to another player probably just obviously dug so deep into 0:03:05.000 --> 0:03:07.440 their own internal world of what it means to go 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:09.760 put your body on the line each day. And so, 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:11.960 if anything, the thing I think that's come out of 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:14.920 it for me is just seeing like the community of 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:17.760 NFL players UM band together in such a way that 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:19.600 is kind of rare, and like just the way the 0:03:19.600 --> 0:03:21.680 coaches handled it. I mean it was just um a 0:03:21.760 --> 0:03:23.720 very human event, and I thought it was handled by 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:26.960 the both teams in the most um humane way possible. 0:03:26.960 --> 0:03:29.000 And I thought that was the most encouraging thing about it. 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:33.600 I'm glad you brought that up about Josh Allen because 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:35.080 I was going to do the same thing, Mark, like 0:03:35.120 --> 0:03:38.360 when they came back from the break, when it first 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:41.640 happened on the on the tackle of Tee Higgins and 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:45.040 you saw Josh Allen with his kind of hands over 0:03:45.760 --> 0:03:48.800 his mouth, obviously in a state of shock. We didn't 0:03:48.800 --> 0:03:50.720 know at the time, but I think obviously that was 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:54.160 the moment when the CPR was going on and and 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:59.840 all the life saving um medical techniques were being used 0:03:59.840 --> 0:04:03.520 to help Tomorrow Hamlin and uh, that's stuck with me. 0:04:03.600 --> 0:04:05.880 That will always stick with me. And and the NFL. 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:08.120 I think part of what made it, you know, so 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:12.160 shocking is the NFL doesn't stop. The NFL does not stop. 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:17.400 We just went through a global pandemic um where you know, 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:21.840 countless lives were lost and impacted, and the NFL found 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:24.599 a way to keep going. Um. You know, you go back. 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:27.640 For those of us that are older, you remember nine 0:04:27.720 --> 0:04:31.120 eleven and how the NFL that stopped the NFL for 0:04:31.160 --> 0:04:34.839 a week, um, and they had to recalibrate some things 0:04:35.279 --> 0:04:38.200 and that's the only other time where just the actions 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:40.960 stopped and you could feel it. As we've covered the 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:44.080 league now, um, all of us have been with it 0:04:44.160 --> 0:04:47.880 with the company for well over a decade. Like uh, 0:04:47.920 --> 0:04:53.400 the way um that everything halted UH this week, whether 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:57.480 it was media availability, team practices, other kind of league 0:04:57.520 --> 0:05:03.000 announcements like the Pro Football Hall of Thames, UM, announcements 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:07.880 about the upcoming vote for Canton, everything kind of just disappeared, 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:10.640 and it just and the league went into lockdown mode. 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:13.960 And that that in it in itself. As someone who's 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:16.680 covered the league for a long time, it just hammered 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:20.160 home how surreal everything was and it all came out 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:24.599 of greggy Bills versus Bengals. This like Titanic matchup, the 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:28.040 matchup of the year with everyone watching it did remind 0:05:28.040 --> 0:05:31.360 me of one of my earliest sports fans sports fan 0:05:31.480 --> 0:05:36.200 memories as being a nine year old kid watching uh 0:05:36.279 --> 0:05:41.400 the World Series between the A's and Giants and just 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:46.520 in the um irony of all ironies, UH, the earthquake 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:50.120 that shocked the central coast of California and killed a 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:51.919 lot of people, injured a lot of people, and that 0:05:52.040 --> 0:05:54.760 shut down the World Series. All eyes were on the 0:05:54.760 --> 0:05:58.000 World Series that year when this mega event happened, and 0:05:58.160 --> 0:06:01.919 similarly here um, everyone was watching this game in a 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:04.240 prime time between two of the best teams at football, 0:06:04.520 --> 0:06:07.279 and it just made it all the more surreal. Yeah, 0:06:07.440 --> 0:06:12.840 you you appreciate, um, the medical responders as we as 0:06:12.839 --> 0:06:18.039 we tape this Wednesday. I think the NFL teams are 0:06:19.560 --> 0:06:22.719 keeping DeMar in their minds and you can hear that 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:26.200 in their press conferences, but they're also starting the process 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:30.800 of moving forward with their week. Teams are practicing it's 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:34.880 On Wednesday, Zach Taylor, the Bengals coach, spoke for the 0:06:34.920 --> 0:06:37.960 first time, and that's why that the medical responders were 0:06:38.040 --> 0:06:43.120 first on my mind. He he spoke really emotionally and um, well, 0:06:43.160 --> 0:06:46.400 just about his gratitude for them, how prepared they were, 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:50.360 and how they've given Tamar Hamling like, um, the best 0:06:50.440 --> 0:06:54.360 possible chance, um to to get through this, and that 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:58.080 the positive signs that we're seeing now we're all all 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:01.360 started there like in the it a battle. And he 0:07:01.360 --> 0:07:06.960 he also spoke about Sean McDermott and in his leadership 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:10.720 in that moment, and I think that was telling that 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:13.720 you know, he said he learned who Sean McDermott really was, 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:16.160 and listening to Zach Taylor, I really appreciated the way 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:19.440 he spoke about it so clearly and openly today and 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:23.560 we do have some of those comments about McDermott where 0:07:23.640 --> 0:07:26.200 he revealed a little more like how everything went down, Um, 0:07:26.480 --> 0:07:30.440 when Hamlin first collapsed, when I got over there, Uh, 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:32.400 the first thing he said was I need to be 0:07:32.440 --> 0:07:35.200 the hospital of Tamar, and I shouldn't be coaching this game. 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:38.800 And so that to me provides all the clarity because 0:07:38.800 --> 0:07:41.440 there were there was no unprecedented the world that gets 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:43.320 thrown out a lot about this situation because that's what 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:47.320 it is. But in that moment, he really showed who 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:49.960 he was that that all his focus was just on 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:53.440 Damar and being there for him, being their first family 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:56.680 at the hospital. And and at that point, um, I 0:07:56.680 --> 0:07:59.480 think everybody everything trend in the direction of the trend 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:02.720 and the right decisions from me there. But um, again 0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:06.480 just just uh the way that I really felt Sean 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:08.680 McDermott led in that moment for his players. He was 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:10.920 their first players. He processed the right way, which is 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:15.040 incredibly difficult, and uh, it really helped us get to 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:17.960 the solution that we needed to get to well. I 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:21.680 mean you think also even before this incident, that what 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:24.000 the Bills have been through this this season where they 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:27.080 had that situation where they you know, couldn't play at home, 0:08:27.120 --> 0:08:29.440 they were snowed out, they were in Detroit for two weeks, 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:32.319 and like that takes leadership, but this was next level. 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:33.800 And I you know, we had a chance to talk 0:08:33.840 --> 0:08:36.600 to McDermott um early in his career, before the Bills 0:08:36.640 --> 0:08:39.240 became what they were, and I think we all we 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:41.439 kind of all right awake, felt the connection to him 0:08:41.440 --> 0:08:43.800 and liked him because he just was, um, a real dude. 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:46.080 And I I can only imagine that like if you're 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:49.320 a Bills player, the way you feel about there's coaches 0:08:49.360 --> 0:08:51.280 all over the league where like players aren't connected to him. 0:08:51.280 --> 0:08:54.360 Sean mcdermot's completely different and in this situation where you 0:08:54.360 --> 0:08:56.439 have to make a choice one way or another, um, 0:08:56.480 --> 0:08:58.720 and he handled so perfectly and it was so organically 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:00.680 and it came from who he was. And it tells 0:09:00.679 --> 0:09:02.520 me a lot about the Spills team. And I think that, 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:04.240 you know, my hope for them. I'm sure it's going 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:07.320 to be such a struggle and so odd to have 0:09:07.400 --> 0:09:10.199 to go play after all this, But um, if anything, 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:12.080 like what we know about the Buffalo Bills is that 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:14.320 it's it's probably brought them together in a way that 0:09:14.360 --> 0:09:18.240 few other teams could um say they've experienced. Yeah, and 0:09:18.440 --> 0:09:22.160 it's that is the kind of others the football story 0:09:22.320 --> 0:09:25.320 side of this as well as like what happens next, 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:28.640 and we're gonna obviously what we do. We cover the league. 0:09:28.840 --> 0:09:31.719 Everyone that listens to the show knows Thursday is our 0:09:32.240 --> 0:09:35.480 preview episode, and it's just like we don't know yet. 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:39.760 Nobody really knows because this is unprecedented, just like when 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:42.280 everything went down on Monday night and there was confusion 0:09:42.320 --> 0:09:46.840 about is the game restarting? Like what's next? The people 0:09:46.840 --> 0:09:49.959 and that is building not knowing what was going on. 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:55.120 Everything is this is uncharted territory. So um, it is 0:09:55.160 --> 0:09:57.920 going to be interesting to see how the NFL figures 0:09:57.920 --> 0:10:01.120 out in terms of the endings and with how this 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:04.440 impacts maybe the playoffs and the scheduling. But all of 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:07.640 that obviously remains on the back burner and we we 0:10:07.800 --> 0:10:10.000 find out and wait to find out and hopefully get 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:14.080 good news about mar Hamlin, and you just wonder how 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:17.320 the NFL will go about, um figuring out how to 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:20.720 take the next step while also monitoring what's obviously still 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:24.760 a very fluid situation UM at the University of Cincinnati 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:28.080 Medical Center. Yeah, it's been interesting to hear a couple 0:10:28.160 --> 0:10:30.439 of the ex players talk about the media just how 0:10:30.520 --> 0:10:35.360 the next snap of football is just gonna be heavy. 0:10:35.720 --> 0:10:38.960 You know, yeah they I so. I mean, the whole 0:10:39.000 --> 0:10:41.760 thing was so surreal. On Monday night, I go through 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:45.280 my my routine throughout the day Monday in terms of 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:48.840 writing the Power Rankings column. Then I'm downstairs and I'm 0:10:48.880 --> 0:10:52.040 alone and I'm wrapping up Power Rankings as I'm watching 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:55.400 the first quarter of Monday night football business as usual. 0:10:55.400 --> 0:10:58.080 It just happened to be the biggest game of the year. 0:10:58.360 --> 0:11:01.480 And you know, when this went down, and immediately it 0:11:01.559 --> 0:11:05.360 just obviously felt different and was scary, and you all, 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:08.040 you get thrown out of the football side of it. 0:11:08.080 --> 0:11:11.200 I just I went upstairs and I had my iPad 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:13.280 and I called my wife over My kids were sitting 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:16.520 on the couch luckily not watching the game UM, and 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:18.920 showed it to her and like, you know, just like 0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:22.880 see her reaction and and you know, the the outpouring 0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:28.480 obviously of concern and support has been u uh, pretty amazing, 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:31.560 but again surreal because we're we're in especially us what 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:34.719 we do, We're in this bubble, this NFL bubble, and 0:11:35.080 --> 0:11:38.200 we're just rolling through another long season, and for this 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:42.440 to happen in week seventeen, it's been so jarring, like mentally, 0:11:43.120 --> 0:11:46.160 um and obviously you can't even imagine where the players 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:48.560 and the Bengals are preparing to play, and obviously Tee 0:11:48.600 --> 0:11:52.040 Higgins involved directly with the play has been um going 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:56.679 through some things. Um uh. But the Bills, I mean 0:11:56.720 --> 0:11:58.959 the Bills if if they're if the weeks on the schedule, 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:02.920 they have to play football. So it's man, ma'm man, 0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:06.120 this has been crazy, and I hope this guy is okay. 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:08.400 I think we're all you know, obviously speak for everybody 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:11.600 on that this. We need a good outcome on this one. 0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:18.320 It's like unfortunately, like is a life and death situation 0:12:18.360 --> 0:12:22.440 which obviously is bigger than football, and like we've we've 0:12:22.480 --> 0:12:26.480 experienced a life and death situation with their great friend Chris, 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:29.480 and this is like a professional thing, but it does 0:12:29.720 --> 0:12:32.760 have you step back at the moment, I guess, and 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:37.720 just kind of realized like what matters and and some 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:42.840 of the UM videos of Damar Hamlin talking about like 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:45.480 cherishing life and learning about demor. Hamlin actually has been 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:47.559 a positive about this, and we'll talk about that with 0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:51.920 with Cameron Wolfe. But just like that in the moment too, 0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:56.160 I don't know, they think about what what all matters here, 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:58.760 and suddenly a lot of things don't seem as important, 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:02.120 like the Seahawks, UM, you know, having to play earlier 0:13:02.120 --> 0:13:03.920 in the day than the Lions when the Lions might 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:07.080 be eliminated sometimes somehow, you know, suddenly feels like a 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:11.240 very like asinine thing to be arguing about. And I 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:16.680 think we're all like forever impacted obviously by UM Chris 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:20.160 and and and how his life was cut short in 0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:24.280 such a tragic and unfair way, and it did, it 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:27.280 did summon memories of that for me also just because 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:30.600 in addition to how sad that ending was the fact 0:13:30.640 --> 0:13:33.079 that it happened that Super Bowl weekend and how surreal 0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:35.480 that was, and even to the point of us doing 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:38.079 instead of a super Bowl recap show, we did an 0:13:38.080 --> 0:13:40.800 episode just talking about Chris two days after he passed. 0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:44.400 UM again, like the real world and life UM all 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:47.840 of a sudden, like showing how small all this other 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:52.840 stuff is uh man, Okay, you know we were gonna 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:55.520 talk to that Monday night recap with when Nick was 0:13:55.679 --> 0:13:57.720 text and he, as you guys know, he was gonna 0:13:57.760 --> 0:13:59.680 go gonna go to that game, ended up not not 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:02.360 going because he thought it was going to be cold 0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:05.280 and then he got called called the pond. So we'll well, 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:09.200 hopefully have Nick on later this this season for a 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:13.000 Bengals playoff game, which we'll have a different feel and 0:14:13.040 --> 0:14:17.320 hopefully be a great celebration. The whole season has a 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:21.760 different feel now and now let's uh without further ado. 0:14:21.840 --> 0:14:24.360 We did speak with NFL Networks Cameron Wolf, who has 0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:27.440 been boots on the ground in Cincinnati since uh this 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:33.480 went down. Greg and I had this conversation um with Cameron. 0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:38.840 So um listening and here we go. All right, now 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:42.560 we have a guest joining us. He has been all 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:47.600 over the coverage of damorrow hamlet situation. He is NFL 0:14:47.640 --> 0:14:51.960 Networks Cameron Wolf, joining us from uh well, a car 0:14:52.520 --> 0:14:56.240 near the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Cam, welcome back 0:14:56.360 --> 0:14:58.800 to around the NFL. How are you doing, buddy. It's 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:02.800 been I'm sure a pretty hectic forty eight hours. Yeah, 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:06.560 manager man definitely been hectic, really, thirty six hours of 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:11.920 NonStop attention on tomorrow Hamlin's health and where his recovery is. 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:14.920 So just trying to do our best job, me and 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:17.760 my producer Laura jack Nick, trying to figure out how 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:21.000 we can tell this story and give everybody the updates 0:15:21.000 --> 0:15:24.720 they need. Yeah, you've done an amazing job. I've seen 0:15:24.720 --> 0:15:26.480 how hard you've been working. Just kind of where we 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:30.680 stand now and we're talking right afternoon East Coast time 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:34.920 on Wednesday. Just give us kind of an update of 0:15:36.000 --> 0:15:38.880 how DeMar Hamlin's doing the most that you know at 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:41.640 this hour. Yeah, we're here outside the hospital where we're 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:46.280 really getting an hour to our update on how Demor 0:15:46.400 --> 0:15:49.600 Hamlet is doing. It's really small updates, but as we know, 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:52.320 we're trying to get any context on how he's doing. 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:56.040 And so the most recent one is Wednesday morning to 0:15:56.120 --> 0:16:00.080 spoke with his family spokesperson Jordan Rooney, who told us 0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:03.640 essentially that things are moving in a positive direction. And 0:16:03.680 --> 0:16:05.960 that's the quote that I think sums up really the 0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:10.680 last twelve hours of damorrow. Hamblin's process a small step, 0:16:10.680 --> 0:16:14.280 but a stump step nonetheless, and he remains a critical condition. 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:17.120 He has sedated UM. He remains in the I see you, 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:20.800 the intensive care unit UM, but he has received an 0:16:20.800 --> 0:16:24.040 improvement and his breathing in particular UM with how he's 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:26.480 working for the ventilator. And so when I say that 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:29.800 he was using a of the ventilator to brief for 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.760 him when he first arrived. Now it's fift and so 0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:35.440 he's starting to breathe a little bit more by on 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:37.560 his own. But they still want to continue to have 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:40.680 him progress UM to where he can fully breathe on 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:43.040 his own. And so that's what they're watching now. They're 0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:46.600 watching his lungs and trying to get those recovered UM 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:49.360 and reaching out to the hospital. They have no information 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:51.400 right now they're able to share, but you know, we're 0:16:51.480 --> 0:16:54.120 keeping in touch with them to see UM where they are, 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:56.440 and so just reaching out to his family, reaching out 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:59.160 to UM the hospital and right now we're all in 0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:01.520 a waiting game and to get what we hope is 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:05.560 eventually that good news that his status is upgrade. Yeah, 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:09.720 and it's you know, obviously extremely fortunate. As you've learned 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:12.159 more about the story and how the mechanisms of the 0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:14.719 NFL machine works in terms of how they handle an 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:18.480 emergency incident. Jordan Rodrigue, The Athletic wrote a good piece 0:17:18.480 --> 0:17:21.359 outlining how it works, the fact that University of Cincinnati 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:24.320 is a Level one trauma center, which it appears like 0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:28.240 he is getting, um, the the best type of medical attention. 0:17:28.680 --> 0:17:31.280 Uh he could get. Right now, what is the scene 0:17:31.480 --> 0:17:35.960 in or around the hospital itself for the medical center? UM, 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:38.560 I imagine obviously a strong media presence, But do you 0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:41.800 have a lot of uh just onlookers or people you know, 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:44.480 camped out front? Like what is the vibe there? Yeah, 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:47.200 probably about thirty to forty media cameras at the peak 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:50.719 at times, and you have people driving around who obviously 0:17:50.760 --> 0:17:53.679 look at us doing TV and wondering what's going on 0:17:53.760 --> 0:17:56.200 in other people who stopped by and say, hey, we're 0:17:56.200 --> 0:17:58.440 praying for him. Um, you know they know what the 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:00.879 story is. Half of the city, the west side of 0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:03.280 the city was lit up blue um last night for 0:18:03.480 --> 0:18:06.080 Damar Hamlin. And you know there was a visual out 0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:08.439 here right on the corner of the hospital about a 0:18:08.440 --> 0:18:12.639 blockdown with about forty to fifty people at eight pm 0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:15.959 and about an hour that was literally a day twenty 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:19.639 four hours after um. You know, Damar Hamlin suffered at 0:18:19.640 --> 0:18:22.600 the cardiac arrest on that Monday night football game, and 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:26.680 so players, you know, the fans, they're essentially we're saying, 0:18:26.720 --> 0:18:29.280 they wanted to support tomorrow, pray fir them. They were 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:36.120 giving motivational messages, they were singing amazing Grace and the family, Um, 0:18:36.160 --> 0:18:39.640 you know, saw all the support they've they've got, whether 0:18:39.680 --> 0:18:41.879 it be the fans outside of the building, whether it 0:18:41.960 --> 0:18:45.600 be the coaches and players and gms who have constantly 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:49.000 given them support. I know, talking with his uncle, he 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:51.119 mentioned just how powerful it was for a family, for 0:18:51.160 --> 0:18:55.119 the family to see the entire Bills team around him 0:18:55.119 --> 0:18:58.159 showing the motion. Seeing that because you know, we know 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:00.960 the NFL is a game, but and and some people 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:02.720 know it's a brotherhood, but you don't usually get to 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:06.000 see that element of it, you know, the true love 0:19:06.040 --> 0:19:10.240 and care that these people have for their brother and so, UM, 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:14.320 the family definitely appreciates and feels the support, and right 0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:18.600 now they're encouraged. UM, but it's still very much a 0:19:18.600 --> 0:19:22.800 waiting game. Yeah. I heard your report this morning, UM 0:19:22.840 --> 0:19:25.960 and your your interview with the with his his friend 0:19:26.040 --> 0:19:28.760 Jordan's saying, you know that the one thing they didn't 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:33.520 want was anyone throwing any negativity tee Higgins way because 0:19:33.760 --> 0:19:36.359 they said that was a normal football play and they 0:19:36.400 --> 0:19:39.960 actually have a background with te Higgins going going back, 0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:43.800 way back, and I guess I'm curious along that lines, like, 0:19:43.840 --> 0:19:46.520 have you we heard initially that some Bills players were 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:49.760 staying back in Cincinnati? Um, do you know if if 0:19:49.880 --> 0:19:52.800 if some are still there? Have you seen players around? 0:19:52.880 --> 0:19:54.720 And then just because you know, I've been watching you 0:19:54.760 --> 0:19:56.919 on TV and those have to be short parts off, 0:19:57.040 --> 0:20:00.720 if you have anything just on what you're last thirty 0:20:00.720 --> 0:20:04.159 six hours, what what you've seen going back to Monday 0:20:04.240 --> 0:20:07.640 night at the stadium, or any anything else in terms 0:20:07.720 --> 0:20:10.400 of things that you've been able to see and what 0:20:10.440 --> 0:20:13.200 that experience has been like from from the player's point 0:20:13.200 --> 0:20:16.680 of view and everything that's happened. Yeah, Gregg, first, I'll 0:20:16.720 --> 0:20:19.240 start with te Higgins because I think it was good 0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:22.120 for the family to come out and express uh their 0:20:22.160 --> 0:20:26.720 feelings there. That was something that was really the family initiated. 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:30.280 They wanted to make clear that they wanted to stop 0:20:30.320 --> 0:20:32.600 the criticism for tagginst to stop and that it was 0:20:32.640 --> 0:20:35.000 not his fault. And I think that's important because I 0:20:35.560 --> 0:20:38.880 was leaving UM the stadium on Monday, and I saw 0:20:38.920 --> 0:20:41.760 Tee Higgins with his mom Are who had an arm 0:20:41.800 --> 0:20:44.760 wrapped around him, and he was emotional. And so naturally, 0:20:44.960 --> 0:20:47.800 whether it's right or wrong, if you're involved in a 0:20:47.800 --> 0:20:50.639 player that has a player injury, you're gonna blame yourself. 0:20:50.640 --> 0:20:53.840 And it appeared that T was having some emotional periods there. 0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:57.560 And so we've heard some some wild comments on on 0:20:57.440 --> 0:21:00.640 on places about Tea and just kind of how uh 0:21:00.680 --> 0:21:03.320 he is at that point, and I think the family 0:21:03.359 --> 0:21:06.720 wanted to be clear that they did not they did 0:21:06.720 --> 0:21:09.440 not support any criticism for him. And so the Bengals 0:21:09.440 --> 0:21:12.720 returned to work today and they'll go through their walk 0:21:12.720 --> 0:21:16.720 through the Wednesday afternoon, and eventually we will hear from T. 0:21:17.560 --> 0:21:20.680 But right now they are dealing with the emotional trauma 0:21:21.000 --> 0:21:22.960 just like many of us are, Like the Bills are 0:21:23.080 --> 0:21:26.080 trying to continue their week, and so that that's what 0:21:26.160 --> 0:21:27.880 I want to say in that respect, and in regards 0:21:27.880 --> 0:21:30.439 to really the last thirty six hours, it's been a 0:21:30.440 --> 0:21:33.960 heavy story. Just being real, like a lot of our 0:21:34.040 --> 0:21:37.440 jobs as reporters is to remove our emotions and tell 0:21:37.520 --> 0:21:40.199 the story and give people the updates um that they 0:21:40.200 --> 0:21:42.840 need to hear. UM. But you just kind of see 0:21:42.880 --> 0:21:45.919 how it impacts everyone. I've seen some of the Bills 0:21:45.960 --> 0:21:50.280 players faces and their reactions. I've seen the Bengals reactions. 0:21:50.320 --> 0:21:53.119 I've seen fans here, um. And you see some of 0:21:53.119 --> 0:21:55.879 the family members that I've met over the last you know, 0:21:55.960 --> 0:21:59.280 twelve eighteen hours, and Garson's uncle and the family friend 0:21:59.280 --> 0:22:02.159 who's a spokes to person. Those people are trying to 0:22:03.040 --> 0:22:05.320 give you clear answers. But you can tell that this 0:22:05.440 --> 0:22:08.760