Damar Hamlin, the Bills safety who suffered cardiac arrest during Monday night’s game against the Bengals, remains in critical condition at a hospital in Cincinnati.
Meanwhile, support has been pouring in for Hamlin’s Chasing M Foundation. A fundraiser — which originally began as a holiday toy drive — has seen millions of dollars of donations come in since the incident.
As for Wednesday morning, the GoFundMe page had a total of more than $6 million in donations — far beyond the initial $2,500 goal.
What’s more, a number of sports figures are represented on the list of donors, including Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, Raiders coach Josh McDaniels, and Patriots safety Devin McCourty and his brother Jason.
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A major contribution also came in from Robert Kraft, who donated $18,003 on behalf of the Patriots.
Why that amount?
ESPN’s Mike Reiss notes that Kraft selected the number 18 for its religious meaning — in the Jewish faith, 18 signifies life.
The number three represents Hamlin’s number with the Bills.
Robert Kraft and the Patriots add $18,003.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 4, 2023
Within the Jewish faith, 18 is “chai” and signifies life. The “3” is Damar Hamlin’s number.
Beautiful gesture. https://t.co/drdrCaCiC6 pic.twitter.com/UOJPwTphRO
Other donations have come in from current Patriots, like Lawrence Guy ($1,000), Brian Hoyer ($1,000), and Myles Bryant ($1,000).
As Reiss also pointed out, several current Patriots — Lawrence Guy, Brian Hoyer, and Myles Bryant (along with McCourty) — have also pitched in donations of their own.
Read more about Damar Hamlin
- Experts break down medical response to Damar Hamlin’s collapse: Quick thinking saved his life
- Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin had to be resuscitated twice, uncle says
- ESPN wasn’t told to walk back reporting that NFL intended to resume Bills-Bengals game after Damar Hamlin’s collapse
- Bills-Bengals game will not resume this week; Patriots-Bills still on for Sunday
- ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt and Ryan Clark deftly handled the difficult Damar Hamlin story on air
- Fans give millions to Damar Hamlin’s toy drive for kids
- Damar Hamlin injury sparks discussion of condition known as commotio cordis
- On Football: Damar Hamlin’s condition is far more important than football
- Damar Hamlin injury: What we know about why it happened
- ‘Please pray for our brother:’ NFL players rally around Damar Hamlin after shocking injury