In what has been called the “worst” possible celebratory move, particularly after Damar Hamlin’s terrifying collapse, the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrated a sack Sunday night by pretending to administer CPR on the field.
In a Sunday night matchup between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, the Steelers ended their 2022 season with a win, beating the Browns 28-14. Their win was secured when, with only 39 seconds left in the game, Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith sacked Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. What happened afterwards, however, tarnished their win in the eyes of some fans.
Shoutout to the Steelers for choosing literally the WORST possible sack celebration this week… pic.twitter.com/MNYB5EqMtI
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) January 8, 2023
In a move that has been dubbed “classless” and “tone deaf“, a Steelers player approached Highsmith as he lay on the field and pretended to administer CPR. While this celebration has been performed countless times on the field, social media users found the choice to celebrate in this way so soon after Damar Hamlin’s terrifying ordeal ill-timed to say the least.
“Steelers defense celebrated a sack by performing CPR. Of all weeks…not a good look,” @TheGunzShow tweeted Sunday evening.
Another Twitter user stated, ” I guess the Steelers didn’t get the memo to lay off the CPR-based celebrations for a while.”
Hamlin was administered CPR for nearly 10 minutes on the field during Monday night’s game before being transferred to the Intensive Car Unit at the University of Cincinnati hospital where he remains in critical condition. (RELATED: Damar Hamlin Reaches Out To Fans For First Time Since Collapse)
While many thought the move was in poor taste, others defended it, conceding that the move was “bad timing” but arguing that the players probably “weren’t thinking.”