NFL grows cardiac arrest coalition following Damar Hamlin emergency

The NFL has expanded its coalition of leagues other entities to prevent cardiac arrest, the league announced on Thursday. The move comes months removed from Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffering cardiac arrest during a Thursday Night Football game on Jan. 2.

Called “The Smart Hearts Sports Coalition,” the group has expanded from 11 originally members to 26, bringing 15 new organizations into the fold. New members of the coalition include the WNBA, NWSL, United States Tennis Association and the National Council of Youth Sports. NFL owners formed the group in March and Hamlin’s own foundation was one of the 11 original members.

The goal is to advocate for every state in the country to enact policies that could save lives in the event of a sudden athlete cardiac arrest.

“One of the sort of silver linings of what ends up happening in these national moments is that you end up educating millions of people,” said Anna Isaacson, senior vice president of social responsibility for the NFL to ESPN. “What we do here at the league is sort of say, ‘OK, like that was a really, a frightening moment, a scary moment and an unreal, surreal moment, but what good can come from that now that everybody is talking about this?'”

The coalition is also offering grants to teams for CPR training and to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Further funding will go to offer similar programs and resources in non-NFL markets around the country.

So far three states — Indiana, Kentucky and New Mexico — have put laws on the book to improve emergency heart care. Three others — Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania — are considering measures and being lobbied by the league while legislatures are still in session.

Pennsylvania introduced a measure named after Hamlin in January

A Pennsylvania state senator announced that he intended to introduce legislation that will be known as “Damar’s Law”. The proposed law, which is named after Hamlin, would require an AED to be present at every sporting event that is hosted by a school district in the state of Pennsylvania.

In his memo, Senator Marty Flynn noted that Hamlin’s cardiac arrest during the game demonstrates how critical timing and preparation are in the event of an emergency.

“Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is not only a leading cause of death across the general population in the United States, but also the leading cause of death among student athletes participating in athletic practices and competitions,” Flynn wrote in the memo. “During a recent professional football game, we witnessed the harrowing incident of SCA involving Damar Hamlin, a safety for the Buffalo Bills, including the immediate response from trainers and medical personnel. Thankfully, we also have seen him make tremendous strides in his recovery.”