The NFL world’s shock and surprise after the Damar Hamlin tragedy last Monday was not unjustified. The 24-year-old safeties collapsing on the field after a cardiac arrest is not a common sight in the sport despite its physicality. However, if you’ve stuck around long enough, it’s not rare to have witnessed similar incidents. And Bill Belichick saw one in 1997.

The New England Patriots‘ head coach appeared before the media and spoke about the Damar Hamlin situation. After news of him regaining consciousness and interacting with family members came out, Bill expressed his delight. However, he understands the gravity of the situation all too well and recalled the horrors of a Jets-Lions game.

Bill had flashbacks from the Reggie Brown injury when he saw Damar Hamlin collapse

When Bill was with the NY Jets, he witnessed the Detroit Lions linebacker Reggie Brown meet an end to his playing career after suffering a spinal cord contusion in the final game of the 1997 season. And the Damar Hamlin situation gave a feeling of déjà vu for Bill, who normally doesn’t tune in for the MNF games.

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“It was kind of a normal play. Adrian Murrell carried the ball and got tackled. Everybody got up and went back to the huddle and Reggie laid on the field, didn’t move and was unconscious for quite a while. I forget exactly how long it was, but 10 minutes or something like that. The whole process took a long time. Must’ve taken a half hour by the time he was finally given CPR and revived. And then put on the board, and put on the ambulance, and driven off the field at the Silverdome,” Belichick narrated in the Patriots’ press conference.

Damar is alive because of the outstanding training staff response

The scenes were extremely melancholic at the Paul Brown Stadium last Monday. The medical team rushed Damar Hamlin to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. However, the first responders’ contributions were the point of difference in Hamlin making it. And one of them was Buffalo Bills‘ assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington, who performed CPR on Hamlin.

“The courage that took. You talk about a real leader, a real hero in saving Damar’s life,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said about Kellington in the press conference last night.

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Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins was in tears, being consoled by his mother after the incident. However, Damar’s good news comes as the biggest relief for the young wideout who was praying for Damar during the Bengals’ practice. Hamlin is off ventilator support and doing well. He even FaceTime-d the Bills locker room to speak to the team.