Who is Damar Hamlin Open Christian who believes family comes first

Amanda PrestigiacomoJanuary 3, 2023

2 42

Damar Hamlin (Buffalo Bills player), 24, suffered a shocking cardiac arrest during an NFL game against the Cincinnati Bengals Monday night

Hamlin, an open Christian who attended a Catholic high school, is currently receiving medical care at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he’s been sedated and remains in critical condition, according to the latest updates.

Here’s what we know about the athlete’s faith and family.

Hamlin attended Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, and was unsurprisingly a standout on the school’s football team. He was reportedly team captain and a heavily recruited all-state team member, winning awards like being named the division’s defensive player of the year.

“Central Catholic High School is praying for the well being and swift recovery of Damar Hamlin, ‘16,” the school’s Twitter account posted Monday night.

“May the Lord be with him and his family during this most difficult time. Hamlin collapsed during the Monday Night Football game against the @Bengals on 1-02-23,” The school was also added.

Central Catholic High School prays for Damar Hamlin’s swift recovery. ‘16 (@BuffaloBills ). May the Lord be with him and his family during this most difficult time.

Hamlin collapsed during the Monday Night Football game against the @Bengals on 1-02-23. pic.twitter.com/xIT6XS8k4h

— Central Catholic (@centralvikings) January 3, 2023

After high school, Hamlin decided on attending the University of Pittsburgh so he could remain close to his family.

It’S said that he was free to choose from any school he wanted, but “wanted locals to be proud of Pittsburgh,” college football writer Thor Nystrum said.

The college years were when the athlete was a student. reportedly He spoke out about his faith, saying, “My faith is in God. So whatever He has planned for me, that’ll be it.”

The football star’s family, particularly his mother Nina, seem to be very important to Hamlin.

Nina was there Monday when her son collapsed on the field. The ambulance took off to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center after Nina was rushed from the stands to be by her son’s side.

Hamlin was born in 1998 to Nina Hamlin (father Mario Hamlin) reportedly Just 16 years old. Mario was just 16 years old when he was arrested in connection with drug dealing.

“I’m extremely close to my family,” Hamlin told News 4 will be back in 2021. “My mom, she was sixteen when she had me and I just try to think about when I was sixteen years old and I just couldn’t imagine having a little boy.”

“It was probably so stressful but both of my parents had me young, at sixteen and pretty much since that point they put everything they had into me to get me to where we are right now today,” He elaborated.

“It was us at first, just me and my mom and my dad and they taught me hard work. They taught me you gotta work for everything you and basically they just taught me all of the lessons of life,” Hamlin also added.

Hamlin shared another interview clip with Henry McKenna from FOX Sports, where he also spoke glowingly about his family.

“My mom, my dad, my little brother, like that’s pretty much my whole world, outside of any other thing going on; my life revolves around them,” He said. “I don’t really do too much without my mom and dad’s opinion. Whether I take it or whether I don’t … sometimes I just want to hear it.”

Hamlin’s little brother is reportedly seven years old.

#Bills Safety Damar Hamlin was questioned about what is important to him other than football.

Beautiful moment.

“I’m big on my family unit. My mom, my dad, my little brother — that’s pretty much my whole world. …. Any other thing going on in my life revolves around them.” pic.twitter.com/wLuY8qRyLi

— Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) January 3, 2023

A November game video shows Hamlin cuddling his mother during pregame warmup.

Damar Hamlin stops for a second to embrace Nina, his mom, and the rest of the family before game.

Always gotta make time for mom 🙏#bills #billsmafia #nfl pic.twitter.com/1S3gADhsEk

— Jenna Cottrell (@JennaCottrell) November 20, 2022

After the tragedy, Hamlin’s GoFundMe was shut down. In 2020, Hamlin set a goal for $2,500 to aid children in his community. Chasing M Foundation. More than $4 million was available as of Tuesday fundraised.

Hamlin’s family released Tuesday a statement thanks to fans and both teams.

A statement from Damar’s family. pic.twitter.com/I0QFQehUc0

— NFL (@NFL) January 3, 2023