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[Tom Pelissero] Statement from the NFL Referees Association on Damar Hamlin, who remains hospitalized after collapsing Monday night in Cincinnati. “Like the players and coaches, our officials fully supported the suspension of this game as all attention needed to be focused on Damar’s health.” (twitter.com)

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[–] VikingsProbablyAPun 379 points380 points  (29 children)

I think it's important to note with the 5 minute warmup thing that refs are not a vested interest in the game. They are simply there to facilitate the game. As soon as the ambulance was off the field, their job was simply to continue facilitating the continuation of the game. Once the coaches seemed to step in and say no, they went with it and agreed. But it just wasn't their call to indefinitely suspend a game, and I think all parties handled this well, all things considered.

[–] Giants Lionsanialater45 274 points275 points  (11 children)

Once the coaches seemed to step in and say no, they went with it and agreed.

Total speculation of course but I'm guessing, if it did actually come up, Refs went "Well shit, rules say 5 minutes, talk it over with the players?" and the coaches went "Yeah no we're not doing this" and the refs went "Sounds good let's get everyone in the locker rooms and go from there."

[–] Bengals CowboysCommiePuddin 116 points117 points  (1 child)

There is no shame in following protocol until someone brings up a concern, then deviating from that protocol.

Officials did nothing wrong last night.

[–] Giants JaguarsJoey_Logano 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep, there’s always a reason to have a protocol in place but also nothing wrong with changing it on the fly in extreme situations like last night.

[–]TurboViking90 134 points135 points  (0 children)

Sounds perfectly reasonable, but this is Reddit so let’s act like Goodel was forcing players back onto the field with a cattle prod.

[–]BillsIforgotmypassword189 24 points25 points  (0 children)

That's my speculation too. I doubt the refs have the authority to extend more than 5 minutes without input from other parties involved.

[–] Seahawks Lions BandwagonStockpile_Tom_Remake 19 points20 points  (3 children)

I was a lot more hesitant on this line of thinking last night but seeing the videos of the coaches and refs talking seemed like a clear discussion without looking like they were arguing over the correct process.

Refs do seem like the ultimately we’re not at major fault.

Edit: fixed wording

[–] Giants Lionsanialater45 18 points19 points  (1 child)

Yeah it wasn't like the coaches stormed off the field in anger while the refs screamed at them to get out there, it was always an ongoing discussion and they all seemed to work together.

[–] Seahawks Lions BandwagonStockpile_Tom_Remake 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Absolutely, after the night and everything this morning my view on the refs handling has changed

[–]LionsIronredhornet 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It feels like they were basically just going normal procedure while they stalled for time to figure out how to handle the situation. Moving past the game there the whole logistical issue for making sure the stadium crowd control is in place to handle an early departure while not creating issues for the ambulance and getting in contact with the league so both teams can make a decision on what to do.

[–] Lions Billsthe-bladed-one 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Refs: “understandable, have a nice day”

[–] Eaglesrsmseries 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That’s what I think as well. I posted that thought earlier today but with a question… There was a warmup when the power went out during the 49ers/Ravens SB, right? And IIRC there have been these warmups before games start back up for weather related concerns (I think there was one at SoFi in 2020. I just figured that the 5 minute rule is just a protocol thing, and refs may have said to the coaches something like “hey we have to say there’s a 5 minute warmup period until told otherwise, but this is up to you and your team as this is unprecedented.”

[–]LionsIronredhornet 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, they went to standard procedure to buy time and then adjusted based on the situation. Its not like this type of situation ia something most officials encounter (hopefully for everyone's sake at least) so defaulting to the normal procedure to just have some sort of a plan makes sense while they can tweak things based on the coaches gauging their players mentalities, and then make the needed changes to the gameplan from there.

[–] PatriotsDeM0nFiRe 18 points19 points  (0 children)

You could see when the coaches and a couple refs got together just before the teams left the field, the refs seemed like they weren't really sure what to do, but it also didn't really seem like they were trying to force anybody to keep playing. After the coaches decided to take the teams off the field, the ref was just like "The game is postponed... until further notice" (or something like that I forget the exact words)

[–]BillsPythnator 70 points71 points  (2 children)

And people think the league could have just immediately called it…no, they couldn’t. This is something you have to discuss with the player’s union too. The 5 minutes thing was likely just standard protocol after serious injuries.

I don’t usually give the league the benefit of the doubt with a lot of things but I do here. None of us have experienced anything like this before.

[–] GiantsIBetThisIsTakenToo 24 points25 points  (1 child)

A good point I hadn’t considered was the traffic. The ambulance needed a clear path, but if you told 10s of thousands of fans to leave right away, it wouldn’t have had one. So even if they had immediately decided to cancel, it still would have been better to wait

[–]Billswolfsclothing 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I was at the Ducks-Blues game in 2020 when Jay Bouwmeester collapsed on the bench, it took at least 15-20 minutes for them to announce the postponement of the game after the ambulance left and that delay was just for a stadium of 17000.

[–] ChiefsDarkagent1 32 points33 points  (11 children)

Yeah, I hate how people used this to vilify officials(the on the field ones).

They had 0 and I mean 0 say in whether the game continues or not. It is not their call and they do not want it to be their call.

This goes for every level of all sports. The on the field officials have 0 say in whether a competition continues (unless they suspend it because they specifically are in danger). They are empowered to trust the medical officials and event organizers words and not make the call on their own. They don't run the whole competition. They simply facilitate it.

[–]BillsTheBigRagu22 6 points7 points  (1 child)

If I read right refs are the 3rd level in making this decision. Commissioner -> an official appointed by the commissioner -> if the refs cannot get in touch with any of them it is their call. I can't believe that nowadays nobody could get in touch with anyone above the refs but the protocol is there.

[–] ChiefsDarkagent1 10 points11 points  (0 children)

My big guess is that everyone defaulted to standard protocol in the moment, exactly how the officials should handle the situation. It takes lots of time to communicate in these large organizations, and without hearing anything from the organizers, you do things by the book. Once the officials got word from on high they basically said "sounds good" and moved on.

We have to remember this isn't a high school gym where the AD is on the side of the field ready to make decisions. Communication is slow and following the book is probably the correct option in the meantime.

[–] Patriotsmrocks301 6 points7 points  (4 children)

I realize this is not exactly the same but Bottlegate does show the refs can end the game at certain points

[–] Billseightbitrob 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Actually Bottlegate proves they can't because the league made them go back out there after the fact and take kneel downs until the game was considered completed.

[–] BengalsPeteF3 12 points13 points  (0 children)

It showed the opposite--the commissioner's office forced them to bring the teams back on the field for a couple of kneeldowns. Roger Goodell, then an Executive VP and not yet Commissioner, actually wanted Terry MacAulay's crew suspended for trying to call the game early, but Mike Pereira refused to do it (though he did give MacAulay an administrative downgrade for trying to end as opposed to just suspend the game).

[–] ChiefsDarkagent1 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah I tried to point that out with

(unless they suspend it because they (the officials) specifically are in danger)

With extreme circumstances (weather, injury, something else crazy) officials can go to the organizer and say "hey something is wrong here", but ultimately it rests on the organizers. It's that way at all levels.

I personally have gotten flac for suspending games due to lightning and it's not my call.

[–] Titansmansock18 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's probably in situations where there's a dangerous situation and the outcome is already completely determined and the time called off the clock would never have any impact. Think "team down 18 points with 7 seconds left." Quarter 1 for an injury (a terrifying literal life and death injury) in a close game for the AFC is unprecedented as far as I can tell.

[–] Eagleschawklitdsco -3 points-2 points  (1 child)

Um it wasn’t the coaches call either, but they stepped up and refused to play. I know this is uncharted water, but the nfl needed to step in a cancel this asap and they just didn’t.

[–]LionsIronredhornet 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would imagine part of that is trying to hammer out the logistics of this, like they may make the decision to abandon the game early but there's still a lot of other factors to handle with the crowd, what to do with the Bills (like if they needed to find a place to londge an entire nfl team and staff of extremely short notice or just have them fly back to Buffalo), making sure that the emergency vehicle is clear before dismissing a massive crowd of people (similar thing happened in the nhl when a player collapsed on the bench, they didn't announce the game was postponed until they had him at the facility basically), not to mention you have the official basically trying to buy time while the action plan gets made and put into place.

[–] Steelersdaveeb 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I don't understand how anyone could possible blame the refs for this. They exist solely to remain neutral.

[–] Bearsthe_tristanity 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Everybody was emotional last night & directing anger all over the place, but at the end of the day it seems like the situation was managed about as well as it could have been from everybody involved.

[–] PanthersPsyduck-Stampede 285 points286 points  (33 children)

Ok so every entity in existence has released a statement at this point.

Actually I don’t think we’ve heard from the Mascots Union. I must know how they feel.

[–] CowboysBelgianWaffleStomper 71 points72 points  (1 child)

The refs were getting a lot of heat for the 5 minute thing, makes sense they released something.

[–] ChiefsDarkagent1 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Yeah with all the emotion and heat coming from the fans last night, I think it makes sense for everyone to give measured statements.

[–] RavensTable_Coaster 111 points112 points  (9 children)

Edgar, Allen, and Poe are typing the memo as we speak

[–] Packersjhove5010 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Thank god Poe is back so we have three sets of eyes on that

[–] 49erspenpointaccuracy 20 points21 points  (4 children)

TIL there are two Ravens mascots. Probably the best named in the league imo

[–] RavensTable_Coaster 19 points20 points  (2 children)

3, i nixed the commas at first because it looks funnier spelled out as the name, but obviously confusing

[–] 49erspenpointaccuracy 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Even better! Wow I love that haha definitely top mascot which is saying something considering Jaxon de Ville exists

[–] Ravens PanthersRhipidurus 4 points5 points  (0 children)

They had actually stopped using Edgar and Allan for awhile and just had Poe. Then the performer who plays Poe got injured and the Ravens did a “scouting” video where they looked for a replacement mascot, and Edgar and Allan showed up. Poe JUST returned to the field this week from his injury

[–]BillsLycoside 6 points7 points  (0 children)

3 type of people in the world. Those that can count and those that can't.

[–] Giantsbootyhunter69420 8 points9 points  (1 child)

Typing? They are probably using a big ass feather pen.

[–] RavensBitterLikeAHop 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Birds don't use feather pens any more than I'd use a pen made from human.

[–] ChiefsXaxziminrax 9 points10 points  (0 children)

"Will the game continue?"

Quoth the Raven: "Nevermore"

[–]LastPlaceIsBestLoser 19 points20 points  (0 children)

At this point, the silence of the concession vendor and parking lot attendant associations is deafening.

[–][deleted] 26 points27 points  (3 children)

We’re looking at you, Burger King.

[–]Billslph1235[🍰] 38 points39 points  (2 children)

WHOPPER WHOPPER WHOPPER WHOPPER

[–] PatriotsWhittlinman 32 points33 points  (1 child)

🎶Junior, double, prayers for Damar

We support the NFL's decision

To postpone this game.🎶

[–] ChiefsXaxziminrax 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Oh my God I can hear it

[–] Steelers Steelerstheipodbackup 22 points23 points  (5 children)

I was going to release my statement separately, but this feels like as good a place as any:

I, theipodbackup, also think the game being suspended was smart.

[–] BengalsNFLBengals 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is bold

[–] Chargersshall1313 1 point2 points  (2 children)

The shall organization and our 1313+ affiliates stand with theipodbackup and also support the suspension of the game.

[–]BillsIforgotmypassword189 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I also stand with theipodbackup

[–][deleted] 23 points24 points  (2 children)

I haven’t see Ja Rule put any statements out yet

[–] ColtsPikes_Pompadour 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Where is Ja??

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Traveling apparently

[–] RavensOdwolda 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It would only be a true NFL moment if the mascots came out in direct opposition to the game being suspended and voiced their outrage that Goodell "doesn't care about the game"

[–] PanthersShangoMango 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I can attest that I deeply care about Sir Purr's thoughts on the matter

[–] PatriotsPM_ME_UR_SEX_VIDEOS 2 points3 points  (0 children)

GRRM is almost done with his statement on Shazier's injury and then will start on Hamlin's

[–] PatriotsZappe_Makes_Me_Happy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What if some group put out a statement saying they were happy it happened? What would we as a community do?

[–] PackersDischucker 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Kind of off topic, but remember at the very beginning of covid how every single company you'd ever given your email to had to send a "how were handling the pandemic email"

This is kind of like that lol

[–] Titansbroccolibush42 76 points77 points  (14 children)

But where do I direct my rage? Someone must pay!

[–] BuccaneersWAR_T0RN1226 31 points32 points  (2 children)

It's so fucking weird. All we have is reports that the plan was to have a 5 minute warm up and then back to the game. Yet everyone is acting like the teams were forced back out there as a result.

It took like what? Less than 30-60 minutes to make the decision to cancel the rest of the game? That's fucking lightning fast for something that huge and everyone is acting like the NFL bungled something.

[–] BengalsUsidoreTheLightBlue 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It took about 45 to get him to the hospital, the official statement came 20 minutes after that.

(Hit occured around 8:45, reports came in he was at the hospital around 9:40, ESPN tweeted out the game was postponed at 10:02)

[–]ObscureGuarantee 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I can't think of a better idea than everybody take 5 while the adults talk.

What to do with the game is not an easy answer.

You can keep going, but for the players somebody almost(and might have actually at the time) died mid game which just fucks your mentality. I doubt anybody could reasonably keep playing after this.

You can cancel it, but that involves so many logistics of probably half a dozen teams and related staff(even home/away game staff too).

There is no chance in hell anybody here would have the balls to just make a decision on the field without talking to somebody higher up the food chain.

[–] GiantsKegsun92 43 points44 points  (6 children)

When in doubt blame Goodell, thats what this sub does whenever anything happens. Its kind of part of his job.

[–] Cowboys Chiefsspecter800 20 points21 points  (4 children)

Actually if I had to guess this was all Jerry's fault. It's just uneducated speculation but I'm going with it!

[–] Giantsjl_23 15 points16 points  (1 child)

Brady suspended 4 games

[–] Cowboys Chiefsspecter800 2 points3 points  (0 children)

seconded

[–] Bills Lions BandwagonChrysalii 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I was going to blame Tom Brady.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Newman!

[–] Bengals CowboysCommiePuddin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

God/evolution for building our bodies imperfectly.

[–]bouncybullfrog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tweet at skip bayless like everyone else

[–]BonesIIX 65 points66 points  (9 children)

I get why the Refs felt the need to put this out. Right now, a lot of people are looking to find who sent out the "5min warmup, then back to the game" statement that was obviously made but no one wants to own it.

In all likelihood, it was a decision made by a mid level NFL exec just going by the letter of the law and was a little out of the loop of what exactly was going on.

As someone who watched it live, it was like a traumatic event in slow motion. It wasn't immediately clear how bad it was and I'm totally sure that the "5 min warmup" happened before it was super clear that Damar was literally in cardiac arrest on the field.

[–] Cowboysrwhockey29 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Saw a tweet earlier saying not immediately canceling the game is normal, specifically so that EMS doesn't get stuck in traffic with thousands of fans trying to leave all at once, and tbh it makes sense.

[–] SeahawksTortoiseWrath 34 points35 points  (1 child)

It seems obvious to me that at some point there was a phone call that went like

"Hey, uhhhhh we got a pretty serious injury here, what do we do?"
"Uhhh well usually you get 5 minutes to warm back up"
"No, you don't understand. Everyone is traumatized and this guy might be dead. Is there anything else you can do?"
"Uhhhhh I mean it says 5 minutes in the book but I'll put you through to my supervisor, please hold"

And then a game of outrage telephone led to "SCUMBAG GOODELL SAYS THEY SHOULD SUCK IT UP AND GET BACK OUT THERE IN FIVE MINUTES! FIRE EVERYONE"

[–] Chiefs 49ersMahomestoHel-aire 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Could have also not been a decision at all and just something Buck said on the broadcast because it was by the book. We never got official confirmation that either team was told to do that as far as I'm aware, and the only real warming up I can recall was Burrow throwing a football. Which is really nothing at all.

[–] Giants Lionsanialater45 10 points11 points  (2 children)

Whoever it was either probably didn't know the full extent, or was also a bit in shock and unsure and just went with "Rules say 5 minutes" which gave everyone time to continue on to the next step which was heading back to the locker room.

I don't think anyone on the field ever seriously considered it an option, just going through the checklists to try and keep it all in progress and work through this nightmare.

[–]ObscureGuarantee 3 points4 points  (1 child)

I almost wonder if it was a rulebook call to buy them time.

Rules say we can call a 5 minute stoppage. Lets do that and buy time for a real plan.

[–] Giants Lionsanialater45 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Gotta be, gives people something to focus on to get them all moving again. A next step to prevent everyone from just sitting there.

[–] EaglesProzzak93 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In all likelihood, it was a decision made by a mid level NFL exec just going by the letter of the law and was a little out of the loop of what exactly was going on.

Possibly. I lean towards it being a decision by nobody (in the sense that nobody just made up the 5 minute thing) and somebody found the 5 minute thing in a rule book regarding continuation of play. Then eventually someone did the right thing and over-rode that rule.

[–] Falconszer0_badass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah whoever said the 5 minute wram up is not a good look. I hope nobody really said it and it is just a rumor or mis-spoken phrase. Glad that both McDermott and Taylor were the two to say, "Fuck no to playing this game."

[–] Bills Lions BandwagonChrysalii 7 points8 points  (3 children)

It's a pretty bland statement, but they had to say something.

[–]WorkAccount2023 6 points7 points  (0 children)

"Also, there were more than 11 Bills players on the field. When the game resumes, Cincinnati will get a first down."

[–]mikebalsaricci 1 point2 points  (0 children)

More people should be speaking up to appreciate the medical staff that helped him. These are the people we continue to take for granted. They're the ones you should be praying to if anything.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (2 children)

Seeing people making jokes and arguing from their armchairs really makes me ashamed and angry. As a Bills fan and former first responder, who’s been in these situations, some of the lack of humanity is pretty gross. Most people will thankfully never have to experience something like what we all saw on TV, as bad as that made you feel…imagine the people right there in the field…now think about your online joke or what you are arguing with a stranger about. Log out and go find a friend or family member and tell them you love them instead…a nascar driver was killed in an accident, an actor is fighting for his life after an accident, and now Damar Hamlin. It can happen anytime and anywhere, social media may be a release but it’s not real life. Take care of yourselves and loved ones in the real world, and pray for peace and recovery for Damar, his family and friends and Bills teammates.

Edit: Think also about the city of Buffalo, the community and the players and what they’ve been through collectively this year. We’ve all mostly forgotten that 10 people were murdered at a Tops in Buffalo just back in May. The deadliest storm since the 70’s killed over 30 people just last week. There is a lot of pain the city is going through, it’s been a very difficult year.

[–] Brownsmmooney1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I hope that the overwhelming support from all fan bases provides you with some peace.

Thank you for your services as a first responder. I can’t imagine how difficult that would be, people like you have helped me a few times.

Last I saw it looks like Damars charity has almost $4m in donations, and it seems like every fan base is united in praying for his health. I hope you can find some faith in humanity in all of this.

I agree, not the time to crack jokes, but people handle things differently and sometimes people just don’t need to talk if they don’t have the right words.

Bless you and all first responders. Thank you.

[–] ChiefsDarkagent1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

When I was in highschool, I had the exact same thing happen as last night. My teammate collapsed after a play on the field and had to be airlifted out. Its haunted me since. I don't wish that on anyone.

We all have to give each other a break sometimes. There is no evil plot. We all were shaken by last night.

Love each other. Its the least we can do.

[–] PatriotsSwayz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just want to release a statement also.

[–] BengalsHailYurii 0 points1 point  (0 children)

THEN WHO WAS PHONE!?