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Jessica Pegula stated that she felt "sick" upon learning about the saddening news of NFL player Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills collapsing on the field during a match against the Bengals on Monday.
Hamlin took a hard-hit from an opposition player during a tackle, partway through the first quarter of the match. He stood up and suddenly collapsed to the ground owing to the impact. The medical team rushed to the ground and the player received attention for 30 minutes. He was later rushed to the Cincinnati hospital where doctors have stated that the player's condition is critical.
Pegula's family owns the Buffalo Bills and the American bitterly shared thoughts on the team's star player undergoing such an incident.
"I mean, it's just terrible. Just terrible. Just terrible," she said during the post match press conference at the United Cup.
The World No. 3 was glad that the officials stopped the game.
"There's really no words. I'm glad they stopped the game. I think it brings you back to there's a lot bigger things that are more important than sports and games and stuff like that," expressed the American.
Pegula also stated that the situation was "pretty scary" and that the whole thing made her feel sick.
"I'm glad they're trying to go support him. But it was pretty scary. I don't really know much else. Obviously it's pretty frantic there right now. I felt sick. It was just terrible. I think everyone felt that way that was watching," she added.
The WTA player also took to social media on Tuesday to react to the horrifying incident. She shared a post from Buffalo Bills of followers sending their thoughts and prayers to Hamlin on her Instagram stories.
"I don't think I've ever actually met him, but with the teams and everything, it's like family" - Jessica Pegula on her relation with Damar Hamlin
Jessica Pegula revealed that even though she does not know Damar Hamlin personally, everyone within the Buffalo Bills has felt like a "family" for her ever since she became the co-owner of the team in 2014.
In light of the horrific incident involving Hamlin, Pegula was asked whether she knew the NFL star in person, to which she replied:
"No, I don't know him personally. I don't think I've ever actually met him. But obviously with the teams and everything, it's like family. It's not something that, yeah, we wanted to see"
