In seeking to provide insight to the frightening situation involving Bills safety Damar Hamlin following his collapse in Monday’s game against the Bengals, ESPN analyst and former linebacker Bart Scott made a statement that drew the ire of a fellow linebacker in Cowboys star Micah Parsons.
Scott told Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take that Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins lowered his helmet into Hamlin while trying to drive through the Bills safety, seeming to assign some blame to Higgins for Hamlin’s subsequent cardiac arrest moments later.
“Right before the tackle, [Higgins] lowers his helmet and he kinda throws his body into [Hamlin's] chest,” the former NFL linebacker told Smith. “He’s standing up because he’s thinking he’s gotta chase Tee Higgins at an angle to make a tackle, so he didn’t expect Tee Higgins to launch his body back into him. It’s one of those things you see as a linebacker.”
Later Tuesday evening, Parsons made it clear he was not happy with Scott’s comments.
“Yoo are we serious?!!?why do we let some people speak on tv?! This was a freak incident but putting fault on another player is wild! They should make some of these guys go over lines or something or not even give them a seat at the table!” Parsons tweeted.
Scott also discussed how when players, such as running backs, lower their heads when expecting contact, it leaves defenders exposed in their chest area.
“They’ve [the NFL] taken that out of the game, but they don’t regulate it as much as possible,” Scott said. “I expect the league will be a lot more vigilant when it comes to that and using that penalty.”
Scott spent 11 seasons in the NFL, playing for the Ravens and the Jets, making the Pro Bowl for Baltimore in 2006.
Hamlin remains sedated and in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. He spent Monday night in the intensive care unit after he went into cardiac arrest during the first quarter of Monday Night Football.
Earlier Tuesday evening, Hamlin's uncle Dorrian Glenn told WIVB-TV in Buffalo that Hamlin is now on 50% oxygen after originally being on 100%.
