EA Sports to remove CPR celebrations from 'Madden NFL 23' after Damar Hamlin incident
'Madden NFL 23' will make the change via a game update in the coming days
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}EA Sports’ "Madden NFL 23" video game will no longer include CPR touchdown celebrations in wake of the incident involving Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, according to multiple reports.
An EA Sports spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday the company is taking the steps to remove the celebration from the game in an update in the coming days.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Denver Broncos wide receiver Tim Patrick, #81, wears a t-shirt in support of Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin at Empower Field on Jan. 8, 2023 in Denver. (RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
In the game, when a player scores a touchdown, the virtual athletes join together in a tandem celebration that includes one player simulating chest compressions on his teammate. Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest and needed his heartbeat restored on the field.
Hamlin has since been discharged from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and transferred to a hospital in Buffalo, New York.
"Not home quite just yet," Hamlin tweeted. "Still doing & passing a bunch of test. Special thank-you to Buffalo General it’s been nothing but love since arrival! Keep me in y’all prayers please!" he tweeted.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Damar Hamlin, center, watching the Buffalo Bills from his hospital bed. (Credit: @HamlinIsland / SPORTS REPORT+ /TMX)
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Pittsburgh Steelers defensive players Alex Highsmith and Demarvin Leal came under fire for doing the CPR celebration toward the end of their win over the Cleveland Browns.
Highsmith told reporters Monday he did not make the connection until the game was over, and he saw the clip make the rounds on social media.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I just don’t want people to think of me that way and think I was doing anything [intentional]," the Steelers linebacker said via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Because I would never, ever, ever, ever want to do that intentionally, and I never, ever would do that."
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, #3, warms up prior to the game with the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals on January 2, 2023, at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. (Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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He added, "I just want people to know that I have nothing but love for Damar and his family. When that happened, I was shook for a couple days. Me and my wife, we were watching the game, we immediately saw it and intentionally started praying, intentionally prayed for him, his parents, the doctors, the nurses. Because me and her, we’re both followers of Christ. We both believe that prayer is powerful, and I’m just thankful for the miraculous work God has done with Damar’s life. I just want people to know that there was nothing intentional about that. It was never planned. None of that."