- Preseason Game Canceled as Patriots’ Isaiah Bolden Suffers Severe Injury
- Eerily Reminiscent of Damar Hamlin’s Cardiac Arrest
- Game Ends in Reflection on Life’s Fragility After Player’s Injury
As the New England Patriots cornerback, Isaiah Bolden lay on the field with a severe injury, his colleagues could not help but think about Damar Hamlin.
New England’s preseason game against the Packers was cancelled after Bolden was carried off in the fourth quarter.
The incident occurred more than seven months after Buffalo Bills safety Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest against the Cincinnati Bengals and was revived on the pitch.
Jalen Mills, a cornerback for the Patriots, stated, “Of course, that is in the back of everyone’s mind when something like this occurs.”
Bolden was hospitalized in Green Bay for one night and discharged on Sunday morning.
“We thank the medical staff at Aurora Bay Medical Centre for their overnight evaluations, as well as the Patriots and Packer’s medical staff for their immediate on-field response and care while transporting Isaiah,” the Patriots said in a Sunday morning statement.
Bolden, drafted in the seventh round from Jackson State, looked to collide with Calvin Munson before being injured.
“It appears to be one of those collision hits, those freak hits that you rarely see in this league and which you despise,” Mills said. “We could not see him very often. It appeared that he was moving and his eyes were open, but at this time we are requesting that everyone keep him in their prayers and hope for the best.”
As medical personnel attended to Bolden, players from both teams exited their respective sidelines on their knees.
After Bolden was taken off the field on a stretcher, the two teams conferred and agreed to end the game. The game was halted with 10:29 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Patriots leading 21-17.
“It’s a reminder of the fragility of life,” said Patriots special teams player Matthew Slater. “It’s not something we spend a great deal of time contemplating, but the reality is that everyone who has ever walked the Earth will have to confront it at some point. This should be a wonderful, festive experience, so I’m sad it’s happening here.”
Both teams’ players reported being reminded of Hamlin’s injury.
Kendrick Bourne, a wide receiver for the Patriots, remarked, “It brought back that Damar feeling, and that’s terrifying.”
Commotio cordis, which causes cardiac arrest by direct blow to the heartbeat, stopped Hamlin’s heart.
Hamlin returned to the Bills and recorded three tackles in a loss to the Steelers in Pittsburgh, his birthplace.
Given the similarities, both teams concurred that it would be futile to continue playing.
“This is not the AFC championship,” said Slater. “We do not play to break records. Second preseason contest. When such an injury occurs, it affects a large number of men in a variety of ways. Our team was rattled by the event.”
