Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin told President Biden that he thinks he will be able to play again following his cardiac arrest in January.
Biden met with Hamlin Thursday, almost three months on from the NFL star suffering cardiac arrest and being resuscitated on the field after making a tackle during a MNF game.
In a video shared by POTUS’s Twitter account Friday the President can be seen welcoming Hamlin into the Oval Office.
The pair enjoyed tossing the pigskin back-and-forth with Biden calling the play to the safety before they sat down to chat.
With Hamlin’s family also gathered in the office, Biden asked the 25-year-old if he thinks there is a chance he will play again.
Damar Hamlin (left) told President Biden (right) that he thinks he will be able to play again
The safety gifted a Bills jersey with Biden and his No. 3 on the back as a gift to the President
Hamlin responded, ‘Yeah, I think so,’ leaving the President ‘glad.’
The safety then unveiled a Bills jersey with Biden and his No. 3 on the back as a gift to the President.
Biden then got Hamlin to sit at the Resolute Desk and sign the back of the jersey, joking, ‘Mr. President would you sign my jersey?’
However, it has not been confirmed that Hamlin will be able to return to playing as he is still undergoing testing, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
It is also not a decision entirely up to him but also the organization.
‘It’s a decision for Damar but also for us,’ Bills’ GM Brandon Beane told reporters from the NFL combine.
Following their meeting Thursday, Biden tweeted a photo of himself with Hamlin in the Oval Office and said it was an honor to meet Hamlin and his family. In the photo, Hamlin is seen holding a Bills jersey in his lap.
‘Damar Hamlin’s courage, resilience, and spirit inspired the American people,’ No. 46 wrote. ‘And what’s more: he turned recovery into action — and our country is better for it. It was my honor to have him and his family here today.’
Hamlin also shared a tweet, writing: ‘It was a pleasure & an honor meeting you today. I know your time is precious and I wouldn’t waste a second of it! Our conversations were valuable.. #UncleJoe.’ He signed off his Twitter post with his signature hands forming a heart emoji.
President Biden commended Hamlin’s ‘courage, resilience, and spirit’ on Twitter, adding: ‘he turned recovery into action – and our country is better for it’
Hamlin thanked the President for his time on Twitter and affectionately signed off his tweet with the hashtag #UncleJoe
Hamlin has made a remarkable recovery from his cardiac arrest in January, as he bids to return to the NFL with the Bills next season (pictured at the NFL Honors award in February)
Hamlin collapsed while playing against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 2, during ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Football.’
Since then, the 25-year-old has had a remarkable recovery, according to doctors.
The team’s general manager said in February that Hamlin’s ‘end game’ is to resume playing so long as he receives the necessary medical clearance.
‘We’re hopeful that he plays, but at the end of the day, that’s a decision that he’s gonna make, but we support him whether he decides to play or not,’ coach Sean McDermott said this week at the NFL’s annual meetings in Phoenix, Arizona.
The White House said in a statement that Hamlin’s efforts during his recovery had helped to ‘make life-saving technologies more widely available’, referring to AEDs (Automated External Defibrillator).
Bills players react following Hamlin’s collapse on the Bengals’ opening drive at Paycor stadium on January 2, in Cincinnati, Ohio
Biden had previously spoken by phone with Hamlin’s parents while visiting Cincinnati on January 4, two days after the game and while Hamlin was in the hospital.
On Wednesday, Hamlin appeared with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla) to discuss a bill that’d increase access to defibrillators in public and private elementary and secondary schools.
A defibrillator helped to save Hamlin’s life.
On Monday, the NFL launched The Smart Heart Sports Coalition, a collaboration among various organizations advocating to adopt evidence-based policies that will prevent fatal outcomes from sudden cardiac arrest among high school students.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk