American football player collapses on field, doctors administer CPR

An American football player Damar Hamlin who plays for the Buffalo Bills, collapsed during his Monday night game on the field against Bengals as his heart reportedly stopped beating.

According to Fox News, the medical staff immediately rushed into the pitch and administered CPR to Hamlin before he was later revived and taken out in an ambulance to a Cincinnati hospital. According to reports Hamlin is still in critical condition.

The medical emergency sparked an immediate outpouring of prayers and well-wishes from fans, commentators and other players, and brought attention back to the particularly dangerous nature of America’s most popular sport.

In pictures that surfaced on social media early on Tuesday morning, players, fans at the stadium were all in tears as medical staff worked to revive Hamlin. The game was later postponed.

According to reports, part-way through the first quarter of Monday night’s matchup, Hamlin took a hard hit to his chest as he tackled the Bengals’ Tee Higgins.

He then stood up and suddenly collapsed to the floor, with medical staff rushing onto the field shortly after.

Players from both NFL teams, clearly shaken by what they had witnessed, gathered around Hamlin during the treatment, which ESPN said included CPR, with many of them kneeling to pray and some openly weeping.