Tee Higgins Speaks With Media For First Time Since The Damar Hamlin Incident: 'I Wasn't In A Good Place'

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins addressed the media on Thursday for the first time since the Damar Hamlin tackle.

What appeared to be a routine play turned into a real-life nightmare as Hamlin stood up from the tackle and collapsed on the field. By no means was Higgins at any fault for the situation, but he was understandably distraught as the scene unfolded and has received some criticism from morons online.

Higgins was certainly relieved that they decided to suspend the game. The NFL has since canceled the game altogether.

“It was hard,” Higgins said on Thursday. “Obviously, I wasn’t in a good place to play for the rest of that game so I’m kind of glad we chose not to play.”

Since the incident took place, Higgins has been in communication with Hamlin's mother, Nina, who has kept him updated about her son's status. Being connected with Nina and receiving support from teammates and others has helped him "feel whole again."

“Obviously, it’s been hard just because you know I had something to do with the play, what not,” Higgins said. “Everyone has been making me feel whole again. I talked to his mom and everything is OK, he’s doing good so I’m in a good place right now.”

You could almost see a weight lifted off of Higgins' shoulders as he was speaking about the positive update from Hamlin's doctors and the thoughtful words he's received from Hamlin's mother.

Josh Allen Shows Support For Tee Higgins

Higgins also has all the support in the world from Bills' quarterback Josh Allen, who took a moment in his presser on Thursday to say he shouldn't put any blame on himself for the incident.

“I haven’t reached out to Tee, but I hope he got some relief today,” Allen said. “I saw some stuff on Twitter, and people should not be attacking him whatsoever and I’m glad that Damar’s family came out and said that.

“That’s a football play, I hope that he doesn’t hold that upon himself because there’s nothing else that he could’ve done in that situation.”

READ: DAMAR HAMLIN’S DOCTORS SHARE UPDATES: SAY HE IS COMMUNICATING, ASKED WHO WON THE GAME

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.