College coach calls Hamlin a hero, Buffalo resident from Valley speaks on his generosity
BUFFALO, NY - Just about every corner of the country is rooting for Damar Hamlin.
Prayers continue to pile in for the Buffalo Bills NFL player after he suffered cardiac arrest during Monday night's game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
As of Tuesday evening, the Hamlin family and Bills team report the 24-year-old safety remains in "critical condition" under intensive care.
Youngstown native and former 21 News intern, Olivia Proia, works in Buffalo at an ABC affiliate where those close to him are anxiously waiting for answers.
"People just can't stop talking about how they hope he's OK," Proia said, "Everybody's praying."
While she said the Bills community is devastated and concerned, most remain optimistic. For fans, the WKBW reporter points out that the focus no longer seems to be on football, but on Hamlin's health.
"At the station, when the injury happened last night, it was dead silent," she said, "We've talked to and heard from people who were at the stadium and they said the same thing. It was dead silent at the stadium just waiting to find out if he was OK."
Proia said if you live in Buffalo, you know Hamlin as a force who gives back beyond the norm through charity work, even from the moment he joined the NFL.
"A lot of Bills players have developed foundations eventually in their career, but Hamlin had it started before he even got here and hit the ground running."
In the last 24 hours, donations to Hamlin's Chasing M's Foundation page previously created through GoFundMe have skyrocketed to about $5-million, going towards toy drives for kids.
From New York to Pennsylvania, Proia said Hamlin is recognized for the abundance of work he puts in off the field to help families in need.
"We just covered a toy drive for him a few weeks ago, and he was there passing out toys to all kinds of kids and he sent them back to the Pittsburgh area as well."
It's the University of Pittsburgh where Hamlin played in college. He was coached by Ursuline High School graduate Pat Narduzzi, who said Tuesday afternoon that Hamlin is a "hero to thousands" of kids and "far more than just a football player," pleading for prayers.
