Damar Hamlin's early struggles without having his father around for four years molded Bills player into the star he is today
Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin has been all over the news due to the incident against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night.
The 24-year-old is in his second NFL season and the road to getting to where he is now wasn't exactly straightforward. He was born to teenage parents, which is likely tough enough, but what followed made him the man he is today.
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In a piece by dailymail.com, Hamlin spoke in an interview back in 2021 and credited his parents for making him into the man he is today.
Hamlin said:
"I’m extremely close to my family. My mom, she was 16 when she had me and I just try to think about when I was 16 years old and I just couldn’t imagine having a little boy."
Hamlin added:
"It was probably so stressful, but both of my parents had my young, at sixteen and pretty much since that point they put everything they had into me to get me to where we are right now today."
Damar Hamlin's upbringing made him who he is today
The Bills star explained via dailymail.com that his young parents were the ones who taught him about life's lessons and about hard work. But he didn't have his parents with him all the time due to his father being in jail for four years over selling drugs.
Hamlin also saw three of his friends shot dead when he was just a teenager.
That is a lot for anyone to go through. Yet, the youngster still made progress through college with Pittsburgh to then being drafted by the Bills in 2021.
His first year in the NFL didn't yield much in terms of playing time as he played 14 games, but didn't start any. He finished his rookie season with two tackles and two pass defenses.
This year, due to injuries on the Bills' defense, he got his chance and took it. He has played 15 games (started 13), has a forced fumble, and 1.5 sacks to his name along with 91 combined tackles.
His early life was tough, but the safety fought through it all and became an NFL player.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit The Daily Mail UK and H/T Sportskeeda.