Author and former NFL player Benjamin Watson told CNN‘s Anderson Cooper that Damar Hamlin’s medical emergency on national television is a reminder that everyone eventually will face death, but that God provides a solution “through His Son Jesus Christ.”
Watson, who played 15 seasons as a tight end in the NFL and won a Super Bowl alongside Tom Brady, made the comments as he and Cooper discussed the dangers of football and the condition of Hamlin, who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle. Medical professionals performed CPR on Hamlin on the football field. The game was suspended.
“To me,” Cooper said, “it’s such a reminder, not only of the violence of … the game of football, but it’s the frailty of human life, that somebody in their prime, an incredible athlete at the top of their game, life can change in the blink of an eye, and you know, and it can for all of us.”
Watson agreed and added, “Part of my prayers right now, Anderson, is for the players in both of those locker rooms, for the chaplains who I know very well who are right now, counseling and comforting players who saw a brother in a near-death experience and who was still fighting for his life.”
“Because the questions about what happens after this life – where will you spend eternity? – as you mentioned, Anderson, are coming up for all of us, not just for the football players. But thank God that He provides an answer through His Son Jesus Christ.”