The family and friends of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin clearly do not want Cincinnati Bengals wideout Tee Higgins to be caught in the crossfire after an extremely unfortunate situation.
Higgins was the one who collided with Hamlin during "Monday Night Football," a collision that prompted Hamlin to suffer from cardiac arrest on the field. Hamlin, who needed to have his heartbeat restored at Paycor Stadium before being taken by ambulance to a Cincinnati hospital, remains in critical condition.
The Bills announced Wednesday afternoon Hamlin has made progress in his recovery since Tuesday, though he remains sedated in the ICU.
But in regards to Higgins, those close to Hamlin want to make their stance clear: They support the Bengals wideout. Jordan Rooney, a friend and marketing representative for Hamlin who has been speaking on behalf of the family, expressed that Wednesday while talking with multiple outlets.
"When I talked to (Hamlin's) parents this morning and kind of told them what's been going on (with Higgins), they were mad. They were frustrated. Like this isn't supporting Damar," Rooney told Buffalo reporter Rachel Hopmayer of Spectrum News 1. "Like if you think you're supporting Damar by bashing Tee, you're not supporting Damar. 'Cause they don't agree with anything that's being said. It was a freak football accident that could have happened with anyone at any time.
"Tee has reached out. He's went above and beyond," Rooney continued. "All signs point to him being a great human being who genuinely cares and who feels bad. And the (Hamlin) family feels bad that Tee would have any guilt towards this situation."
Rooney told Cincinnati reporter Meredith Stutz of WLWT much of the same Wednesday.
A majority of NFL fans felt compassion for Higgins given the burden he was left with after the collision and ensuing scare. However, ESPN's Bart Scott recklessly shared a take and painted Higgins out to be dirty in the situation. The ESPN talking head, more so than not, was criticized for that take including a strong response from Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor on Wednesday was asked how Higgins was processing the events and said the 23-year-old wideout was "doing OK."
