If you’ve watched sports for years, you’ve unfortunately seen some truly tough moments where everyone in the stadium paused, held hands, and hoped for the best for an injured player. The player could be from the home or away team, but in the end, they are human beings with family members watching, and we all gathered our support to keep our thoughts and/or prayers with them.
In the Monday night NFL football game, which could determine the AFC championship, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest following a hard hit. Very few things cut across party and cultural lines like sports. So, when the announcement was made he was breathing and in ICU in a local hospital, you would expect people would at least respect the family in their time of sorrow. After all, isn’t that what we would want for our own family? Well, tell that to QAnon.
In an Elon Musk-controlled Twitter world, QAnon began floating conspiracy theories and racist tropes almost immediately, pumping out in significant volume claims that vaccines had led to this outcome or that they might be okay with this outcome because the player was Black. There is only one word for it: despicable.
RELATED STORY: Elon Musk's new Twitter plan: Stop paying the bills, fire all the lawyers
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While doctors took to Twitter and every news source possible to explain the problem, QAnon supporters offered their own, medical-free assessment, and thanks to the Twitter platform and social media, they are allowed to market their non-scientific assessment and influence others who buy into that absolute garbage. Rasmussen, a conservative pollster, makes this problem pretty clear:
With absolutely no scientific degrees, no research, and no real understanding of how things work, QAnon is far busier in “scoring points” on the life of someone else, refusing to acknowledge that Hamlin’s heart attack had nothing to do with COVID.
While he remains in critical condition, this ghoulish post came from a Twitter verified account and stoked the beliefs of those who want to believe in conspiracies. Thank you again, Musk, for giving conspirators their paid-for blue checkmark.
Commotio cordis occurs when a person is hit in the chest and that impact triggers a dramatic change in the rhythm of their heart.
Right now, per ESPN, Damar Hamlin remains in ICU Tuesday morning, recovering from a heart attack. Fans of both teams joined outside overnight through the morning to send goodwill.
His family has expressed thanks for all the support and encouraged continued donations to his charity, one aimed at bringing toys to needy children. Before this injury, the charity had a goal of $2,500. As of today, the charity has raised more than $3 million.
QAnon and anti-vaxxer conspiracists online are more than content to use anything to get their five minutes of fame. How sad for them that they cannot find the humanity to know that these young men are risking their bodies to entertain and live out their dreams. Hamlin and his family deserve far better than to be a punchline.
In the Monday night NFL football game, which could determine the AFC championship, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest following a hard hit. Very few things cut across party and cultural lines like sports. So, when the announcement was made he was breathing and in ICU in a local hospital, you would expect people would at least respect the family in their time of sorrow. After all, isn’t that what we would want for our own family? Well, tell that to QAnon.
In an Elon Musk-controlled Twitter world, QAnon began floating conspiracy theories and racist tropes almost immediately, pumping out in significant volume claims that vaccines had led to this outcome or that they might be okay with this outcome because the player was Black. There is only one word for it: despicable.
RELATED STORY: Elon Musk's new Twitter plan: Stop paying the bills, fire all the lawyers
Campaign Action
While doctors took to Twitter and every news source possible to explain the problem, QAnon supporters offered their own, medical-free assessment, and thanks to the Twitter platform and social media, they are allowed to market their non-scientific assessment and influence others who buy into that absolute garbage. Rasmussen, a conservative pollster, makes this problem pretty clear:
With absolutely no scientific degrees, no research, and no real understanding of how things work, QAnon is far busier in “scoring points” on the life of someone else, refusing to acknowledge that Hamlin’s heart attack had nothing to do with COVID.
While he remains in critical condition, this ghoulish post came from a Twitter verified account and stoked the beliefs of those who want to believe in conspiracies. Thank you again, Musk, for giving conspirators their paid-for blue checkmark.
Commotio cordis occurs when a person is hit in the chest and that impact triggers a dramatic change in the rhythm of their heart.
Right now, per ESPN, Damar Hamlin remains in ICU Tuesday morning, recovering from a heart attack. Fans of both teams joined outside overnight through the morning to send goodwill.
His family has expressed thanks for all the support and encouraged continued donations to his charity, one aimed at bringing toys to needy children. Before this injury, the charity had a goal of $2,500. As of today, the charity has raised more than $3 million.
QAnon and anti-vaxxer conspiracists online are more than content to use anything to get their five minutes of fame. How sad for them that they cannot find the humanity to know that these young men are risking their bodies to entertain and live out their dreams. Hamlin and his family deserve far better than to be a punchline.