For the first time since Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on Monday, Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, the other player involved in the collision, spoke to the media Thursday.
Higgins told reporters he texted with Hamlin's mother Thursday morning and that she updated him on Hamlin's status, according to Cincinnati Enquirer's Kelsey Conway. Higgins said hearing that made him "more at home" and that he appreciated Hamlin's family having his back after the play.
According to Fox 19's Joe Danneman, Higgins said she told him she was thinking of him and praying for him, and that he felt better knowing Hamlin's condition was improving.
"I'm in a good place right now," Higgins said.
“I’m in a good place right now.”
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) January 5, 2023
Tee Higgins’ first public comments since Monday Night Football. Said he spoke with Damar Hamlin’s mother. Said it’s hard to forget about, but they’re professional football players and have to move forward. pic.twitter.com/mpw4UCksNe
MORE: Latest on Hamlin's status
The play between Higgins and Hamlin initially appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary, as Higgins tried to fight through a tackle for extra yardage. Hamlin stood up before collapsing, bringing out the training staffs for both teams.
Higgins explained that in the moment, he believed Hamlin had just flopped and that he had been bumped by a Bengals player before he looked again and saw what happened.
"I just turned my head and I tried not to think about because I knew it was something crazy, something tragic," Higgins said. "It was hard. Obviously, I wasn't a good place to play the rest of that game so I'm kinda glad that we chose not to play again."
MORE: Hamlin asks doctors 'Who won the game?'
Hamlin's family has remained vocally supportive of Higgins throughout the process. Amid some social media comments placing blame on Higgins for the incident, Hamlin's family has been consistent in its support for the Bengals player.
Hamlin's marketing representative and friend Jordan Rooney told Spectrum News' Rachel Hopmayer that when he told Hamlin's parents about the comments directed at Higgins, they are "mad" and "frustrated."
"This isn't supporting Damar. If you think you're supporting Damar by bashing Tee, you're not supporting Damar because they don't agree with anything that's being said. It was a freak football accident that could have happened with anyone at any time," Rooney said. "Tee has reached out, he's went above and beyond. All signs point to him being a great human being who genuinely cares and feels bad. And the family feels bad that Tee would have any guilt toward this situation."
“If you think you’re support Damar by bashing Tee (@teehiggins5), you’re not supporting Damar” — @jordonr
— Rachel Hopmayer (@rachelhopmayer) January 4, 2023
Just caught up with #Bills Damar Hamlin’s close friend and marketing rep outside UCMC. He also clarified that it was a misunderstanding that Hamlin was resuscitated twice. pic.twitter.com/lrvdvVxbSp
MORE: Will Bengals-Bills be rescheduled?
There has been support for Higgins across the NFL after the play, including from teammate Tyler Boyd, who left Pitt a year before Hamlin arrived. Boyd defended Higgins in a tweet directed to ESPN analyst and former NFL linebacker Bart Scott, who had said on "First Take" that while Higgins didn't intentionally try to hurt Hamlin, he did lower his helmet at Hamlin. Stephen A. Smith has since defended Scott, saying it was clear he was trying to allude to Higgins being to blame for what happened.
Straight bozo https://t.co/fLGZj3VjFi
— Tyler Boyd (@boutdat_23) January 4, 2023
On Thursday, Boyd again stood up for his teammate.
"For guys or whoever to criticize Tee for hitting him, I mean what could he have done?" Boyd said. "For Tee to do that and cause that, he feels super s—y about it, which he should because that's a traumatic injury. That will mess you up on the inside because he knows that could've went either way."
During the Bills' first press conference since the "Monday Night Football" game, Bills quarterback Josh Allen also spoke up for Higgins, saying that it was a "football play" and that he should not be attacked for the incident.
"I hope that he got some relief today. I don't know I saw some stuff on Twitter. People should not be attacking him whatsoever and I'm glad that Damar's family came out and said that. And hopefully he found some relief today because that's a football play and I hope that he doesn't hold that upon himself because there's nothing else that he could have done in that situation."
Very classy move by Josh Allen, who made sure to say this before his press conference ended today: "People should not be attacking Tee Higgins whatsoever. Hopefully he found some relief today. I hope he doesn't hold that upon himself."
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 5, 2023
Well done. 👏pic.twitter.com/9YoyHnXhzp
Higgins said the past 48 hours have been difficult, but that as a professional football player, he has a job to do, and that entails moving forward and preparing to face the Ravens on Sunday.
"That's something that, it's hard to forget about," Higgins said. "But at the end of the day, we are professional football players, we do have a job to do and just got to shift our focus and focus on the Ravens."
