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February 10, 2023
The National Football League (NFL) and its long-time partners, the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Red Cross (ARC) are promoting CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) education and working with coaches and other youth sport providers to ensure proper training on medical emergencies. Amid the current dialogue in the US on emergency preparedness in sports, and following recent on-field emergencies, the league has been activating in the lead up to Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII in Arizona and will continue throughout February.
According to AHA, cardiac arrest is a public health crisis with more than 356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests annually in the US – 90% of them fatal. With three out of four cardiac arrests occurring in homes, knowing how to deliver CPR is critically important. The league will work to make training more accessible by supporting existing programs and community-based partnerships.
“Being able to deliver care in emergency situations is not just important at sporting events but in all walks of life,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “Our continued partnerships… will ensure even more people have the capability to administer CPR and respond to emergencies. The tools and training exist to keep young athletes safe – we embrace our responsibility to ensure that knowledge is in as many hands as possible for the greatest positive impact.”
The NFL is also working to deliver CPR education nationwide. It is supporting American Heart Month, which raises awareness on the importance of cardiovascular health. Benefits from fundraising activities, such as the Super Bowl 50/50 raffle and a special fundraiser via NFL auction yesterday, will contribute towards the important work of the AHA and ARC. These include the AHA’s “Be the Beat” Hands-Only CPR campaign and the Red Cross Hands Only Expertise. Publicly available expertise resources from both organizations are also being shared widely.
Visitors to the Super Bowl can also take advantage of free CPR education at the NFL Experience at Phoenix Convention Center in Arizona. A mobile training unit is on hand to provide hands-only CPR training from experts and information to take back to their communities.
The importance of CPR became evident following Buffalo Bills player, Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest during a January 2 game. Now fully recovered, Hamlin is collaborating with AHA on his #3forHeart™ CPR Challenge – a viral social media initiative to drive greater awareness of CPR. The Challenge includes three steps: 1) Learn CPR, 2) Give to support CPR research, education and training and 3) Share the word with others.
“The recent attention around CPR training is a powerful reminder that emergencies can happen at any time,” said Gail J. McGovern, American Red Cross President and CEO. “The Red Cross is proud that the heroes on the field from the Buffalo Bills training staff who helped save the life of Damar Hamlin were Red Cross CPR/AED trained. We’re grateful to know he can have more time with his family to enjoy life. Thanks to partners like the NFL and the American Heart Association we can get more people trained and know more lives can be saved.”
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