JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A former NFL player from the Tri-Cities says the first thing he wanted to do upon finding out about Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin’s collapse was to stop and pray.
During Monday night’s game between Buffalo and Cincinnati, Hamlin collapsed and suffered cardiac arrest after making a tackle.
Daniel Kilgore, who is from Kingsport, played 10 years in the NFL as a center before retiring last year.
“First thing was I wanted to pray,” Kilgore told News Channel 11. “I wanted to pray for Damar, his family that were there at the game, for his safety, my heart went out to them and his teammates, the staff, the medical personnel that they had at the game, who were thankfully there and ready to go. My heart just went out to them.”
Kilgore said he reached out to the Bills’ head athletic trainer Nate Breske, who he was with for five years in San Francisco and considers to be one of his dearest friends, about Hamlin.
The Kingsport native said NFL players see each other as family.
“When you’re talking about livelihoods, it’s more than football, and you’re talking about the brotherhood,” Kilgore said.
Hamlin remained in critical condition as of Tuesday.
