Football fans grapple with violent side of a beloved sport

NEW YORK (AP) — The harrowing scenes of Damar Hamlin's on-field collapse after suffering cardiac arrest have forced some fans to confront yet again a truth they’ve always known but hated to think about: Football, a game with violence in its DNA, can go from exciting and joyous to dark and tragic in a flash.

Now, as the Buffalo Bills defensive back remains in critical condition in a Cincinnati hospital, fans like Max Cerone are reflecting on their relationship with the sport they love.

Cerone, age 24 like Hamlin and a high school guidance counselor in the Buffalo area, grew up minutes from the Bills stadium, attending games from childhood with his dad “in pre-season and 90 degrees, or negative degrees and snowing.”

Settling in at home with two buddies to watch Monday's high-stakes matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, Cerone and his friends watched in horror when only minutes into the game, Hamlin completed what seemed a routine tackle, stood up quickly and then collapsed limply, frighteningly backward to the ground, legs splayed, motionless. They watched stricken teammates weeping, kneeling and praying as medical staff fought to revive the 6-foot, 200-pound player’s stopped heart.

“People sometimes look at players like they’re in a video game,” Cerone said — as avatars, and fodder for fans’ fantasy leagues. “We watch them for entertainment, and complain when they’re not playing well. But these people are putting their lives on the line every time they’re going out there and putting on the pads."

It's exceedingly rare for a player to go into cardiac arrest on the field, and the injury Hamlin suffered wasn't necessarily specific to footbal l, or even sports.

Still, it came immediately after a hit, and was a stark reminder that human beings aren’t built to crash into...