Acrisure Stadium glowed blue all week before the final home game for the Pittsburgh Steelers this season. Like everyone across the NFL, the Steelers honored Buffalo Bills safety, Damar Hamlin before Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns. Outside of the Bills Mafia, no fan base was as close to Hamlin who played his college football for the Pitt Panthers.
People from across the world are not happy with the Steelers “CPR” celebration in light of Damar Hamlin’s life threatening injury that just happened earlier this week 👀 pic.twitter.com/2YlNv0WfXa
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) January 9, 2023
During the game against the Browns, Steelers linebacker, Alex Highsmith got home for one of the seven sacks against Deshaun Watson. The Steelers were fighting for a playoff berth and understandably excited about bringing Watson down after he spent the first half of the game demonstrating his escape artist ability. The post-sack celebration has drawn the ire of the Twitter mob.
Photo Credit: Steelers.com
The Pitt Panthers share a practice facility with the Steelers and the Panthers get the unique privilege as college players of observing the NFL up close. Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin shared that he had known Hamlin since before he was a teenager. Pitt and the Steelers are just about as close as you can appropriately be with a professional football team in college.
The venom that has been spewed at Highsmith is completely inappropriate. DeMarvin Leal assisted Highsmith in a celebration that they had done several times before the Hamlin incident. It was a rookie and a very young veteran who made an insensitive choice considering the circumstances, but it wasn’t anything new.
“I just don’t want people to think of me that way,” Highsmith told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Because I would never, ever, ever, ever want to do that intentionally, and I never ever would do that. I just want people to know I have nothing but love for Damar and his family.”
The NFL was reminded a week ago that this is just a game and that life and death are more important. Hamlin isn’t the first player who has had a cardiac arrest on an NFL field. Jerry Hughes of the Detroit Lions died over 50 years ago during an NFL game. The difference is that they played on in the 1970’s and in 2023, they canceled the game. It was the right thing to do, the game became inconsequential when you saw both teams gather at midfield.
GAMETIME!!! @BuffaloBills 💙 pic.twitter.com/PQYClonUHb
— 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐢𝐧 (@HamlinIsland) January 8, 2023
The NFL is supposed to be fun and last week it wasn’t. Sunday, Hamlin himself eased the tension with a tweet from his hospital bed, essentially giving permission for the game to go on. It was a brave move from a classy young man and his family to signal the country that the game of football might be flawed, but it was important to them that it went on.
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 12: Alex Highsmith #56 of the Pittsburgh Steelers greets fans after a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on September 12, 2021 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images)
Highsmith is entering the last year of his rookie contract and coming off a career-high with 14.5 sacks this season. He was the 2022 nominee for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award, given annually to an NFL player who best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship and respect for the game and opponents. Outside of the Walter Payton Man of the , it may be the second highest honor a player can receive that recognizes their integrity.
The Twitter mob often overreacts and rarely researches the outrage that is in seemingly limitless supply. It is inconceivable that two young men who play for Tomlin and shared a practice facility with the Pitt Panthers thought in the moment that a celebration they had done before would trigger this kind of backlash. It wasn’t a malicious act and shouldn’t be treated like it was one. Highsmith isn’t a villain, and neither is Tee Higgins. Football is a game, and it is supposed to be fun, everyone in uniform is the good guy.
Even the Baltimore Ravens.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Are you surprised that the classy Highsmith is facing this kind of backlash? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
