ESPN's coverage of Damar Hamlin's collapse was a master class in how to cover a difficult story
It was said many, many times over the course of Monday night and through Tuesday, and it was correct every time: ESPN handled the coverage of Damar Hamlin’s collapse perfectly.
It was the most difficult of assignments: A group of broadcasters, reporters, producers and everyone in between suddenly asked to fill air time with not much information to go off of beyond what had happened to the Buffalo Bills safety on the field, along with the questions of what would happen next.
From the crew on site for the game at Paycor Stadium to the studio group to Scott Van Pelt’s show, no one held back on the emotion and humanity of what we all witnessed.
There are many moments to spotlight, but here are a few, starting with Booger McFarland, who was in the Monday Night Countdown studio with Suzy Kolber and Adam Schefter:
Booger McFarland with the most wise words on how the NFL needs to handle the Damar Hamlin situation. pic.twitter.com/r7qVCcZOca
— JMK (@JMKTVShow) January 3, 2023
Lisa Salters mixed in her emotions with what she saw as the scene unfolded:
Lisa Salters remains the standard > pic.twitter.com/paGuUmmnib
— Ashley Nicole Moss (@AshNicoleMoss) January 3, 2023
Ryan Clark’s message was an important one:
"This isn't about a football player, this is about a human."@Realrclark25 spent time with @notthefakeSVP to offer support to Damar Hamlin. pic.twitter.com/fJT80Nz7kV
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 3, 2023
The broadcast went back to Joe Buck and Troy Aikman a few times throughout the night and they handled it somberly:
"I just don't know how any of these players can come out and play football tonight."- Troy Aikman pic.twitter.com/CSepyiEtL2
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 3, 2023
Van Pelt, as always, had the right things to say to sum it all up:
"Sports is important. And suddenly it's not." ESPN's Scott Van Pelt perfectly captures the shock of NFL player Damar Hamlin, in critical condition, after an on-field collision.
— Ian Hanomansing (@ianhanomansing) January 3, 2023