‘I prayed.’ For NC State coach Kevin Keatts, Hamlin collapse brings back tough memory
The collapse of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin during the NFL Monday night game brought back a vivid flashback for N.C. State basketball coach Kevin Keatts.
“Tough, emotional,” Keatts said Tuesday.
Hamlin, 24, suffered cardiac arrest after making a tackle during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals. After his heartbeat was restored by first responders, Hamlin was taken to a Cincinnati hospital where he remained Tuesday in critical condition.
For Keatts, the incident was similar to what occurred in a December 2017 basketball game at PNC Arena, when South Carolina State player Tyvoris Solomon collapsed in front of his team’s bench area.
Again, first responders were quickly on the scene. Dr. William Jacobs, N.C. State’s team physician, made his way to the S.C. State bench and NCSU athletic trainer Austin Frank used an automated external defibrillator that is kept behind the N.C. State bench during games.
Taken to UNC Rex Healthcare’s Heart and Vascular Hospital, Solomon was hospitalized for five days before being released and returning to school.
Keatts can only hope for a similar recovery for Hamlin.
“At certain times in sports it becomes bigger than the sport that’s going on there on the field or a court,” Keatts said. “I prayed. I got on my knees, because I experienced that first-hand with the young man from South Carolina State.
“It’s tough. As a coach and a player and a family member or anyone involved, at that moment you don’t care about anything but the safety of the player. The football and the basketball stuff, it doesn’t matter at that moment. You just want to make sure he’s OK. So it was a tough moment for me.”
Looking back on the PNC Arena scare, Keatts added, “Our first responders did a great job. I said then that these folks don’t get enough credit and we should be thanking them and praising them for what they do.”
This story was originally published January 3, 2023 at 2:34 PM.
