Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety who is recovering after suffering cardiac arrest, is not just an NFL player. He is also a devout Christian who believes that, for him, family always comes first. Son of Nina and Mario Hamlin, the couple had him when his mother was only 16, as the athlete explained to News 4 in 2021:
I’m extremely close to my family. My mom, she was sixteen when she had me and I just try to think about when I was sixteen years old and I just couldn’t imagine having a little boy. It was probably so stressful but both of my parents had me young, at sixteen and pretty much since that point they put everything they had into me to get me to where we are right now today. It was us at first, just me and my mom and my dad and they taught me hard work. They taught me you gotta work for everything you and basically they just taught me all of the lessons of life.
From them he inherited his strong faith. A quality he enhanced during his childhood, after attending Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh. The institute, as well as the sports world, is watching his progress and all have wished him a speedy recovery:
Central Catholic High School is praying for the well being and swift recovery of Damar Hamlin, '16(@BuffaloBills ). May the Lord be with him and his family during this most difficult time.
Hamlin collapsed during the Monday Night Football game against the @Bengals on 1-02-23. pic.twitter.com/xIT6XS8k4h
- Central Catholic (@centralvikings) January 3, 2023
The athlete completed his higher education at the University of Pittsburgh. According to Dailywire, he had many open offers and really could have chosen any institution to continue his education, however, he wanted to stay close to his family and continue his studies and practicing their faith. He spoke openly about this during his college years: "My faith is in God. So whatever He has planned for me, that’ll be it," he stated.
