SANTA CLARA — Concern engulfed Ambry Thomas as he opened up a group text thread and messaged his longtime friend Damar Hamlin.
“We’re praying for you, bro,” Thomas wrote.
Those words echoed throughout the group chat Thomas, a 49ers cornerback, shares with 10 colleagues from the 2021 Senior Bowl, including Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills’ safety who went into cardiac arrest Monday night while playing at the Cincinnati Bengals.
Thomas wasn’t watching live when the nationally televised scene shook the NFL to its core, with Hamlin still in critical condition at a Cincinnati hospital. Once Thomas saw Hamlin’s name trending on social media, he went to investigate, and, “it hurt to see him like that, just to know what type of person he is, so full of energy.”
Thomas reconvened with his 49ers teammates Wednesday for the first time since Hamlin’s horrifying collapse.
With a rainbow illuminating the Bay Area air Wednesday, Hamlin’s name and Bills jersey number adorned the Levi’s Stadium signage, where the 49ers otherwise would promote their upcoming game against the regular-season finale Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.
#49ers Levi’s Stadium pays #DamarHamlin tribute — and Bay Area weather supplies a rainbow, too pic.twitter.com/2OCAuXmTCf
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) January 4, 2023
“I don’t even know the guy, but the effect that it had on the community, on the group, it kind of hit my heart a little bit,” wide receiver Deebo Samuel said.
Added safety Tashaun Gipson Sr.: “Everyone has a heavy heart taking that field, because one of our brothers is fighting for his life.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan did not collectively address his team, but, a day earlier, he and general manager John Lynch sent out a team-wide message about the tragic situation and that the team’s clinical psychologist, Dr. Joe Mattox, was available at team headquarters; players’ wives sought that counseling more than their husbands, Shanahan noted.
As Monday night’s events unfolded, Shanahan did talk to a couple of players, and he “saw a bunch” individually on Tuesday. “They thought it was a pretty freak thing and how unfortunate the kid was,” Shanahan said. “I think everybody was emotional about it but none of the guys expressed to me any concerns about what they do.”
Players continued to talk about it among themselves and in some meetings.
“We have to make sure everybody is comfortable and feeling alright,” Nick Bosa said. “I think everybody’s OK.”
Thomas, who’s on the other side of the locker room from Bosa, continues to seek updates through the group chat, hoping to hear positive news about Hamlin’s precarious state. Thomas said he did not seek out counseling but was aware of its availability.
Thomas first met Hamlin while on a 2016 recruiting trip to the University of Pittsburgh, where Hamlin was teammates with Avonte Maddox, Thomas’ friend from Detroit. After Thomas’ college career at Michigan, the 2021 Senior Bowl reunited him with Hamlin, and they played on the same squad.
“He’s energetic. He brings the juice,” Thomas said of his friend. “He’s somebody where if you’re having a bad day, you go get next to him. He’ll find a way to bring you up.”
Thomas could use some cheering up this season, though any personal sorrow is shelved by the 49ers’ success and his second playoff trip in as many NFL seasons. He’s been mostly restricted to special teams role and is battling a bone bruise near his ankle. A year ago, in his fifth career start, his interception sealed a playoff-clinching win in the regular-season finale at the Los Angeles Rams.
That hasn’t stopped him from swapping tips about common opponents on his group chat with Hamlin and others from their Senior Bowl. Monday night, it was secondary coach Cory Unlin on Thomas’ phone to discuss Hamlin’s scary situation.
“It hurts to see something like that (Monday night) happen to him,” Thomas said. “It hurt. It hurt a lot, honestly.”
How do the 49ers process all this as they get back to work, knowing they’re a week from practicing for the playoffs, where an eventual Super Bowl triumph supposedly would be worth all they’ve sacrificed?
“You’ve got to do your job, everybody does,” Shanahan said. “That’s real rough. It’s real sad. But you’ve got to work, too. … And you’ve got to be there for each other.”
Shanahan commended how coaching colleagues Sean McDermott (Bills) and Zac Taylor (Bengals) handled Monday night’s unimaginable ordeal and the game’s ensuing postponement.
Shanahan said no players have asked him for reassurance about the 49ers’ in-game emergency protocols.
Last season, the 49ers had a player, Trenton Cannon, taken off Seattle’s field by ambulance after sustaining a concussion on the opening kickoff. Back in 2005, guard Thomas Herrion sustained a fatal heart attack in the 49ers’ locker room after an exhibition game. Medical personnel tried to revive him before being transported to a hospital and pronounced dead at age 23 (from ischemic heart disease, with a significant blockage in his right coronary artery).
Linebacker Oren Burks, the 49ers’ representative with the NFL Players Association, said the union has sought reassurance for rapid response to medical emergencies in light of Hamlin’s. “They said there was somebody being 30 yards away that was able to give him CPR,” Burks said. “That’s really important, just for us to know that we’re protected that they’re the best of the best in the world at what they do.”
“Our staff has done a great job just letting us know what resources are available for us,” Burks added. “We have therapists on staff, we have personnel staff that is open to talk to, and coaches have done a great job reaching out to us making sure that any resources or things that we need to talk about to have that conversation. I feel really supported here.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com