Travis Kelce shares insights into first Chiefs practice after Damar Hamlin collapsed
Travis Kelce’s dad, Ed, was in Kansas City on Monday night, so father and son decided to grab a bite to eat and watch the Bills-Bengals game at a local restaurant.
While driving, they learned of the medical emergency involving Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who suffered a cardiac arrest midway through the first quarter.
Kelce, the Chiefs tight end, shared his thoughts on Hamlin’s collapse while on the “New Heights” podcast he co-hosts with his brother, Jason.
“You want to talk about terrifying,” Kelce said. “You see all the videos of the reactions of guys on the field and immediately you think of putting yourself in their shoes and Damar’s family’s shoes, the things that they’re going through emotionally. It was demoralizing, and it’s scary. It’s scary to see anybody go through that. Let alone somebody that’s doing the same thing that you are, that is playing football, a game.
“But were watching it and hearing the commentators be very unsure initially about what was going on. And then hearing how serious of a incident it was. Like I said, it was terrifying. And immediately I think if I would have seen the reactions of players live on the field, I would have probably lost it in terms of my emotions for him and his family.”
The following morning, Kelce and his Chiefs teammates arrived at the team facility for practice.
Imagine going back to work after seeing a person in your profession fighting for his or her life while on the job.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid knew Hamlin would be on the mind of everyone in the building, so he changed up things. Reid held a team meeting and asked Rick Burkholder, the Chiefs’ vice president of sports medicine and performance, to speak to the players.
“The first thing we had was a team meeting,” Kelce said. “Coach Reid brought up our head athletic trainer, who’s well-respected around the league and has a very clear understanding of what goes on during the NFL game day, in terms of what’s on the sideline at every single NFL game, because of the possibility of something like this happening. ...
“There’s anywhere from 35 to 40 medical professionals that have their eyes on the game at all times, that are working specifically for situations like this, or if somebody were to get injured on the field. And it was a little reassuring to hear how safe of an environment it is, and that because of that Damar has a chance to be alright. But at the same time ... I’m not good at describing these feelings, man. It’s a tough one to even go through.”
Playing for Damar
Comforted by the team meeting, Kelce said he is ready to play in Saturday’s regular-season finale against the Raiders in Las Vegas.
Kelce hopes the Chiefs-Raiders game, which will be the first since Monday’s contest was postponed, will give people an opportunity to take their mind off whatever troubles them.
Playing for Hamlin is another motivation for Kelce.
“As scary of an incident that it is, the honor that you can have to go out there and play for him, play for the people that are dealing with what they’re dealing with, to try and give them excitement,” Kelce said. “Trying to give them something to get away from what’s going on in their daily lives. The honor that I get from that, it’s priceless, man. You can’t put a dollar amount on that. You can’t put a ticket on that. I willingly will go out there and honor him, just like I honored Ryan Shazier (who suffered a spinal injury), just like I honored Alex Smith (who suffered a gruesome leg injury). Guys that I have a tremendous amount of respect for.
“Coming together is the best way that I think we all can deal with it and that’s what we’re doing. And as for week 18, whatever ends up happening there, whatever the NFL ends up deciding, just know if we end up going back out there to play, I’m sure every stadium will have two teams playing their tail off for for Damar.“
This story was originally published January 5, 2023 at 8:59 AM.
