As Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin lies in a Cincinnati hospital in critical condition after collapsing on the field in a game last Monday night against the Bengals, sports fans remain in various degrees of shock.
How could this happen to a healthy 24-year-old athlete who’s had excellent care by a bevy of doctors since his days in college at Pitt? Yes, it’s always shocking when athletes go down on the fields of play with life threatening injuries, but sadly it isn’t uncommon.
Hundreds of athletes around the world have died as a result of on-field injuries or undetected medical issues. The United States leads the way, but it has far more sports than most countries.
Clearly auto racing is the most dangerous sport. And boxing.
Even non-contact sports like baseball, golf and tennis offer a degree of danger. Ever been hit by a golf ball? Ever had a powerful serve hit you in the face? 100 mph fast balls have claimed their share of victims.
Thousands of concussions and knees, ankle, neck and back injuries happen each year in basketball, soccer, lacrosse, hockey and track and field .
Among the best known deaths are Dale Earnhardt at Daytona and UNLV all-American basketball player Hank Gathers’ in ’90.
All of us are pulling for Hamlin’s recovery and dreading the next such incident.