(Reuters) – Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin and his family visited U.S. President Joe Biden, the White House said on Thursday, months after he suffered a cardiac arrest during an NFL game.
Hamlin, then aged 24, had to have his heartbeat restored on the field after making a tackle in the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals in January, in an incident that sent shockwaves through the National Football League.
Hamlin spoke on Capitol Hill on Wednesday in support of a new bipartisan legislation that would increase the availability of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in schools.
“The President thanked Damar for his courage, resilience, and can-do spirit which has inspired the American people,” the White House said in a statement.
“He commended Damar for his efforts – including through legislation – to bring people together and make life-saving technologies more widely available.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington, D.C., editing by Ed Osmond)
