Bills: Denny Kellington breaks his silence on the moment he saved Damar Hamlin's life
Not all heroes wear capes. Denny Kellington is an assistant athletic trainer for the Buffalo Bills who will forever be remembered for something much bigger than football. Kellington will be forever remembered as the hero who helped save Damar Hamlin's life. Hamlin, safety for the Buffalo Bills, suffered a reported cardiac arrest on the football […]
Not all heroes wear capes.
Denny Kellington is an assistant athletic trainer for the Buffalo Bills who will forever be remembered for something much bigger than football. Kellington will be forever remembered as the hero who helped save Damar Hamlin's life.
Hamlin, safety for the Buffalo Bills, suffered a reported cardiac arrest on the football field after attempting to make a tackle in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Immediately after impact, Hamlin stood up, then collapsed.
Kellington, without wasting a second, jumped into action, providing crucial and life-saving CPR on Hamlin. The assistant athletic trainer was a big part of why Hamlin is alive today.
Since that day, Kellington has been radio silent. One Bills Drive likes to keep things close to the vest, and Kellington was no different. However, during a commencement speech at his alma mater OSU, Kellington finally spoke about what went down that day.
Alaina Getzenberg, ESPN reporter for the Buffalo Bills, tweeted out the video of Kellington's speech. Perhaps the most impactful moment, further proving his heroism and selflessness, was when Kellington declared, "I was not a hero on January 2nd, I was ready. I was ready because I dedicated my life to this work and because I had the support of my friends, my family, and my mentors."
Kellington carried on, discussing what went down on the field and how it has been the catalyst for driving something positive in the world. The Bills assistant athletic trainer is doing everything he can to take the credit away from himself and instead use it to drive positive change in the world. This is further proven when he declared, "On January 2nd, by the grace of God and with years of practice and preparation, Damar Hamlin has a happy ending. He is gone on to use his platform to advocate for CPR and AEDs. He's inspiring people everywhere to understand that they can learn by standard CPR and AED use. I have no doubt that this moment caught on the world's stage is going to save many more lives. When unexpected doors open or life changes course trust that your experiences have led you there and you will be ready."
Now, Hamlin is on the road to recovery and fighting to make it back to the NFL. While cleared to play, he still has an uphill battle to make it back on the field. In a world where there's a new Marvel or DC movie/television show released almost weekly, it's important to step back and look at the real heroes in our world.
Kellington doesn't have any superpowers. He wasn't bitten by a radioactive spider or born on an alien planet to protect civilization. Instead, Kellington was prepared and trained to be ready at a moment's notice. Without hesitation, he jumped head-on into one of the most scary situations you can imagine and went to work. Because of his quick thinking, Hamlin is alive today.
