Electronic Arts Sports is pulling the “CPR” celebration from Madden NFL 23 in the aftermath of Damar Hamlin collapsing mid-game, reports TMZ.
The touchdown celebration became a popular animation in the game, with fans initially showing approval to one of the more creative additions to Madden’s growing database of endzone emotes. Madden 23’s “CPR” revelry found one of the player’s teammates falling out after scoring a touchdown and another athlete running up to them to administer CPR to the player in need.
However, since Hamlin shockingly collapsed on the field during the Monday Night Football exhibition against the Cincinnati Bengals, fans of Madden 23 have pointed out how insensitive the taunt appears. According to a spokesperson for EA Sports, the company plans to remove the taunt during the next Madden NFL 23 update rolling out in “the next few days.”
Interestingly enough, an actual NFL player brought the taunt to the real world on Sunday (Jan. 8). During a match between the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith and another unspecified teammate performed the celebration after stopping the Browns on 3rd Down.
Highsmith has since apologized for his ill-timed taunt, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
“I just don’t want people to think of me that way and think I was doing anything [intentional],” Highsmith said. “Because I would never, ever, ever, ever want to do that intentionally, and I never ever would do that.”
Damar Hamlin, 24, safety for the Buffalo Bills, suffered a shocking injury during the Monday Night Football game against the Bengals on Jan. 2, 2023. During Monday’s game, the athlete made a tackle on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins and suddenly collapsed. He was rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he was sedated and listed in critical condition.
Fox 19 Now reports that since then, Hamlin has been released from the hospital and is back in Buffalo, NY, where he will continue his recovery.