On a Monday Night Football game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, a single play changed how many viewed football moving forward.
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Early into the contest, a routine play caused Damar Hamlin to collapse, which resulted in Hamlin receiving CPR on the field. It was a shocking scene for people across the globe, and it gained the attention of those who don't always give the NFL their attention. Hamlin went into cardiac arrest, was given CPR for multiple minutes on the field, and was then transported to the hospital by an ambulance. During those long, suspenseful minutes, the only thing going through the minds of many was that Hamlin was going to be okay.
Thankfully, as it appears, Damar Hamlin has made incredible strides in going back to a "normal life," especially given the circumstances he was in. That, however, isn't the biggest talking point of the situation. The biggest talking point isn't whether Hamlin is doing okay, whether he's coming back to football, or how monumental his recovery has been. No, no. The main talking point over the last week or so is that the Damar Hamlin that fans have seen going into the locker room and in a suite for the AFC divisional round between the Bills and Bengals isn't Damar Hamlin at all. In fact, the rumor is that it's a ... clone of Hamlin.
The Damar Hamlin "Clone" Theory Explained
Grown ass folks that can have kids, pay taxes, and vote believe that Hamlin had a clone at the game.
We have some stupid people in this country.
— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) January 24, 2023
Yep, people are more convinced that Damar Hamlin was cloned the night of his collapse and that clone is going around acting like the real Hamlin.
The reasons behind the rumor were, but are not limited to: he was hard to see in the suite during the Bills' divisional playoff game; his photos on social media covered his face; when he was being escorted to the Bills' locker room, he was covered up with a jacket, hat, glasses, etc. and plenty other ridiculous beliefs. It's truly baffling to thing people would think this is true, but it's a rumor that caught ablaze on social media like a wild fire in a wind storm.
Damar Hamlin Responds on Twitter
Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
Timelines on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, were littered with people spending far too much time on the internet trying to be a sleuth on the situation. With it being such a big topic as of recent, of course it was going to make its way to Damar Hamlin, his teammates, his loved ones, and the Buffalo Bills as a whole.
And Hamlin had a single word to say to that rumor when he took to social media on Jan. 23, 2023.
βCloneβ π₯·π½ pic.twitter.com/CLpfDsNzrV
— πππ¦ππ« πππ¦π₯π’π§ (@HamlinIsland) January 24, 2023
Hamlin's tweet captioned "'Clone'" was a shot at all the people thinking his "clone" was the one out in public instead of him, and around this same time, the Bills' starting quarterback, Josh Allen, also has a few words to say about it and he didn't mince words.
"One, that's Damar's swag," Allen said. "He likes wearing that. Two, he was in the locker room with us pregame, so yes, that was Damar. There is absolutely zero chance. Absolutely zero chance. That was the Damar Hamlin, that's our guy, that's our brother. He was with us pre-game, post-game, he was up in the suite with his family, his little brother 100-percent. People need to stop that s***."
The fact that teammates of Damar Hamlin have to prove he wasn't cloned is something I never thought I'd be writing about. But to be fair, in this same life I'm living, there had to be public service announcements for people not to eat detergent during the Tide Pod era.
This incident just goes to show how ridiculous the internet can be.
