(NewsNation) — Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin is awake but remains in critical condition after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, according to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Hamlin, 24, was put in a medically induced coma at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center following the incident.
“(Hamlin) is being cared for by ICU (intensive care unit) neurocritical care teams, trauma surgery, cardiology and expert nurses and respiratory therapists,” said Dr. Timothy Pritts. “(Hamlin) has significant progress to make but this marks a really good turning point in his ongoing care.”
The Bills also tweeted a statement Thursday saying Hamlin has shown “remarkable improvement.”
“Damar has shown remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours. While still critically ill, he has demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact.”
The NFL announced late Thursday it will not resume the Bills-Bengals game.
The league said some of the factors in coming to its decision included that “not playing the Buffalo-Cincinnati game to its conclusion will have no effect on which clubs qualify for the postseason. No club would qualify for the postseason and no club will be eliminated based on the outcome of this game.”
The NFL said its decision creates “potential competitive inequities in certain playoff scenarios.” The league said clubs, in a special league meeting Friday, would consider a resolution recommended by the commissioner and approved Thursday by the competition committee.
Since the incident, Hamlin’s Chasing M’s Foundation, initially established to support a toy drive in Hamlin’s community of McKees Rocks, Pa., has received over $7 million in donations.
The Associated Press and NewsNation affiliate WIVB contributed to this report.