What happened on the field in Cincinnati on Monday night is unprecedented. That is what Adam Schefter wants you to remember as everyone debates whether or not the NFL really wanted Bills and Bengals players to begin warming up after an ambulance containing an unconscious Damar Hamlin left the field.
Making his weekly appearance on The John Kincade Show on Wednesday, ESPN’s NFL insider described his night on Monday Night Football. He and Booger McFarland were having dinner when Hamlin collapsed on the field. They rushed to the set knowing that they and Suzy Kolber would be needed if there was an extended delay.
There has been some dispute in the wake of Troy Vincent denying that the NFL was ever considering making players return to action after a five minute warmup. Joe Buck has said he stands by the report, which was first delivered on air by ESPN’s rules expert John Parry. Schefter echoed the sentiment.
“I stand behind John Parry, he told Kincade. “John Parry said it on air on the telecast. John Parry was told that – that the game would resume in five minutes.”
Adam Schefter added that he thought people were too focused on whether that is something the NFL was ever considering. He said that the five minute warmup before resuming action is the standard procedure for the league after an extended delay.
It makes sense that following that plan would have been the first instinct of someone in charge. Schefter says that NFL employees are human. Just like everyone at home, they needed time to realize how out of the ordinary the situation was.
“No one was at fault here,” he said. “I know there was at least one person that said [the game would resume] and so what? So they did? They thought ‘well this is how we’ve done it,’ but this is a different circumstance and it didn’t take long for people to recognize that.”
