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Moments Before Playing Softball, Damar Hamlin Honors Family of 12-Year-Old Boy Who Died on Football Field

Published 07/09/2023, 8:30 AM EDT

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Damar Hamlin showed respect and paid tribute to the family of a 12-year-old boy who sadly passed away while playing football. Elijah Jordan Brown-Garcia, a vibrant young boy, adored football and dancing. Excelled as a sixth-grader at KIPP Rise Academy while also shining in the Essex County Predators league. According to Elijah’s mother, who spoke to the news station, there was a delay in the arrival of the ambulance and no one performed CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) on her son.

Damar Hamlin is doing a CPR tour to raise awareness and provide life-saving equipment and training for youth sports and community organizations. He plans to continue the tour in New York City, Pittsburgh, where he attended college, and Cincinnati, where he suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during a game on January 9, 2023. Hamlin survived thanks to the quick actions of his teammates, coaches, and medical staff who performed CPR and used an AED.

Damar Hamlin expressed his affection

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The incident happened on February 10, 2023, at West Side Park in Newark, New Jersey. While running drills at a no-contact football practice, Elijah Jordan Brown-Garcia fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

Hamlin via Twitter, “I gotta tell you I love you, bro. Anytime you’ve spoke on me has always been highly and nothing but love. Wish you coulda been here but I know our next link up will be legendary!!!!!!”

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“He was so happy to be there. He didn’t know that it was going to be his last day,” The mother of the boy, Raven Brown, shared with News 12 New Jersey.

Elijah’s mother, Raven said that nobody at the place where they were gone through CPR training. It took a long time for the ambulance to arrive, and despite being taken to the hospital, Elijah couldn’t be saved.

10 YO brother of Elijah called Mother to let her know that Elijah was not answering, “I [Mother] said, ‘What are they doing? What is anybody doing?’ And he said, ‘They are pouring water on him, and they are fanning him.’ And that’s when I got my kids together and I said, ‘I’m on my way,'” Mother Raven, said that her son Elijah was at a practice session with his younger brother.

Damar hosts charity softball game

Hamlin founded the Chasing M’s Foundation to help others who might face a similar situation. He said: “This program is very important because it gives life-saving care to kids in their own communities and on the field.”

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On Saturday, Buffalo Bills Safety hosted a charity softball game in Pittsburgh as part of his CPR Tour. The event was a fundraiser for the Chasing M’s Foundation, which aims to improve the health and safety of young people through sports, training, and programs.

via Imago

Hamlin asked his friends from the NFL and his old school, the University of Pittsburgh, to come and play with him on the field at The Charles L. Cost Field. The group included NFL stars, Aaron Donald and James Conner.

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The CPR Tour will wrap up on Sunday with CPR training sessions at the PNC Park Riverwalk. Damar Hamlin started the tour in Buffalo, where he plays for the Bills, on June 3, 2023. He distributed automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and offered free CPR training for more than 1,000 people at Highmark Stadium.

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Written by:

Mohammad Asif Ansari

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Mohammad Asif Ansari is an NFL writer at EssentiallySports, with a passion for bringing sports news to life through engaging content. As an ardent sports fan, Ansari likes to cover core sports angles. His latest article, “Dallas Cowboys Reportedly Making It Difficult for Aaron Rodgers to Pursue His Dream Team” got a hoard of interested sports readers.
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Edited by:

Abigail Kevichusa