It’s no surprise to anyone that American football is considered one of the most contact-heavy sports in the world. For some, the violence in the sport is a big part of the appeal, and why they tune in because you never know what could happen. But this can lead to major injuries in players, which sometimes causes a fallout that even spreads to the digital versions of the sport.
Some fans have taken issue with the CPR celebration inside EA’s Madden NFL series of games after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s recent injury, according to streaming personality and reporter Jake Lucky. Hamlin suffered a life-threatening injury after a tackle on Monday, Jan. 2, causing his heart to stop. What undoubtedly saved his life was the Buffalo Bills training staff immediately performing CPR until the ambulance arrived.
This was a very tense moment for those watching the game, with many immediately calling for the game to be canceled. Now, some are saying that the touchdown celebration in Madden that shows CPR being performed has become insensitive given the fact that a player nearly died without that same intervention. To some, it seems, this makes a mockery of the fact that players can and will need CPR or even die on the field.
One could make the argument that the celebration is completely unrelated to Hamlin’s need for CPR, and many of the quote tweets are pointing out just that. But it doesn’t discredit the fact that there will always be an underlying threat of this same kind of injury in the game. As long as players are colliding with each other at full speed, CPR and football will always be linked.
It’s likely that this is just a number of players noticing the dark nature of this specific celebration given that a real-life player nearly died. Whether EA addresses it or not, Hamlin is thankfully already taking steps toward recovery.
