ESPN stands by Joe Buck’s reporting during Damar Hamlin’s devastating injury

ESPN stood by Joe Buck, who stated the NFL wanted to resume play between the Bills and Bengals after a five-minute break in the aftermath of Damar Hamlin’s heart attack.

Considering the magnitude of the moment, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman handled the Damar Hamlin trauma as well as anyone could expect. ESPN did their best to hide Hamlin — who received nearly 10 minutes of CPR on the field — while he was fighting for his life.

After Hamlin was eventually removed via ambulance and taken to the hospital, Buck reported via the broadcast that the NFL wanted to resume the game after a five-minute break. That, obviously, was not going to fly, and the coaches and captains agreed not to play the contest that night.

The NFL has since denied this ever occurred. ESPN backed the broadcast booth on Tuesday:

“There was constant communication in real time between ESPN and league and game officials,” the statement said, via Jeff Howe of The Athletic. “As a result of that, we reported what we were told in the moment and immediately updated fans as new information was learned. This was an unprecedented, rapidly-evolving circumstance. All night long, we refrained from speculation.”

Did the NFL want to resume after Damar Hamlin’s injury, or was Joe Buck right?

In the moment, it would be tough to blame Buck for reporting on the game’s eventual resumption, as millions of football fans across the world were watching live. In the end, the league agreed not to resume the game on Monday night, and no decision has been made as Hamlin remains in the hospital. The Bills flew back home to Buffalo, and the entire NFL has watched with eager anticipation for updates on Hamlin’s status.

Per his family and close friends, Hamlin received a positive update this morning from doctors. The Bills confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday afternoon:

"“Damar remains in the ICU in critical condition with signs of improvement noted yesterday and overnight. He is expected to remain under intensive care as his health care team continues to monitor and treat him.”"

We’ll have more updates on Hamlin’s status once they are made available to the public.