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NFL Player in Critical Condition After Being Revived on Field; NFL Suspends Game After Bills Player Suffers Cardiac Arrest; Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) Raises Voice, Swears Inside Heated GOP Meeting. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired January 03, 2023 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour this Tuesday morning. I'm Jim Sciutto.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Erica Hill. It is a busy hour ahead, so let's get right to it.

First up, a horrific scene during Monday night football, Buffalo Bills Safety Damar Hamlin in critical condition at this hour in a Cincinnati hospital after the 24-year-old collapsed on the field following a violent collision in that game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Players on the field understandably reacting in shock and horror in those moments, medical staff performed CPR on Hamlin for some nine minutes before his heartbeat was restored. He was driven out of the stadium in an ambulance. That game ultimately suspended by the NFL.

The Bills updating this morning Hamlin did, in fact, suffer cardiac arrest after that tackle. We're going to take you live to Cincinnati to get you the very latest on his condition in just a moment.

SCIUTTO: Yes. It was so hard to watch for us, and I'm sure for many of you. We're going to do all we can to answer questions.

Also another story on Capitol Hill, a new Congress begins with Republicans in control. But there is still a battle underway. Right now, Republican lawmakers are meeting behind closed doors as Kevin McCarthy is still trying to get the votes needed to become House speaker. Will we see a once in a century floor fight over that this afternoon?

Let's begin this though hour in Cincinnati where Damar Hamlin remains in critical condition at U.C. Medical Center after that jarring collapse on the field last night. Listen, we want to warn you, this video is disturbing. We're going to show it once this hour because we want you to understand the context of what happened as we ask questions going forward this morning.

So, here we go. His collapse came after this hit. It seemed okay in football. This was Hamlin and Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. But he then stands up and you seem, he collapses in just alarming style there. We now know he suffered a cardiac arrest. His heart stopped. HILL: CNN's Adrianne Broaddus is live in Cincinnati this hour outside of the hospital. There was that collapse, taken off the field and the ambulance. What is the latest on his condition at this hour, Adrienne?

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, roughly 12 hours later, he is still fighting for his life here at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. According to the Buffalo Bills, he is on a ventilator and was sedated.

As you all mentioned, he did suffer cardiac arrest at the age of 24. And you talked about how medics rushed on to the field within minutes, quickly within ten seconds, they were at his side and performing CPR for at least nine minutes.

Think about the parents and the family members of these players who sometimes watch on T.V., like you and I do, or those who have the privilege of being inside of the stadium. We are told by one of Damar's close friends that his mother was inside at the time of the incident.

So, it is already tough for these families as they watch these professional players take bumps, bruises and all sorts of hits. They described last night as devastating. But his friend, Jordon Rooney, says the 24-year-old he knows is a fighter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JORDON ROONEY, DAMAR HAMLIN'S FRIEND AND MARKETING REP: Be patient right now. I think there is a lot of narratives going around and a lot of people want certain answers, but like this is a human being who has a family and their wellbeing, his wellbeing is what is most important. But I'm excited for him to bounce back from this because Damar is someone who -- he will use things like this, adversity, and he'll make sure he inspires plenty of other people along the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROADDUS: He also told us Damar's family is taking it minute-by- minute, hour-by-hour. Jim and Erica?

SCIUTTO: Listen, they should know we're praying for them, we're rooting for them as well. Adrienne, thanks for being there for us.

Joining us now to discuss, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he's CNN Chief Medical Correspondent. And, Sanjay, I'm always conscious of not trying to make you diagnose from afar, you're not in a hospital room but you're a doctor.

[10:05:00]

What was your reaction when you saw him collapse and what can you glean from what you saw there?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think my reaction is probably similar to everyone else's reactions, it is really frightening, really scary to watch that happen even as a trauma surgeon myself. It is jarring to see when you actually see that unfold that way.

Based on what we know now -- last night, we didn't have a lot of details. Based on what we know from the Bills, the facts, he did suffer a cardiac arrest. You see an injury like this and you think it could be a variety of things, a spinal cord injury, a brain injury, it is a cardiac arrest, according to the Buffalo Bills.

And also very importantly, they were able to restart his heart on the field. So, those are important details. Just the time is of such critical importance here in terms of taking care of someone like this. The response from that medical team was fast, and seconds, minutes matter in a situation like this.

What we saw was a -- it looked like a tackle that you see pretty commonly in football, but a blow to the chest at the -- at a specific location, at a specific time can cause arrhythmia, to show you here. So, if this is the heart and a blow is coming here to chest, it can potentially cause the heart to go into this arrhythmia, known as ventricular fibrillation, where the heart is no longer pumping blood the way that it normally does but instead starts to quiver, likes this, fibrillate like this.

And it is just not moving oxygenated blood through the body. And what you need to do is restart the heart and restart the process of normal pumping and it sounds like that happened. So, that is an optimistic sign, but as you just heard from Adrienne, he's still in critical condition. And that expectation is that's probably going to be the case for some time and then they will need to evaluate just how much of an impact did that lack of blood flow have on the rest of his body.

HILL: So, in terms of that, as you noted, Sanjay, the fact that his heartbeat was reportedly restarted on the field but that the seconds and those minutes matter, it is about the blood getting through your body, it's about oxygen getting to your brain. Just remind us what those minutes can mean, why it is so important that the medical team was there right away.

GUPTA: Yes. I mean, you know, the condition that we're talking about here is something that is known as commotio cordis. And it's a rare, thankfully, rare condition where you typically get that sort of arrhythmia. The reason I bring up the fact that it is rare is because there is not a lot of data on something like this. But if you do look at the outcomes, it is so dependent on how quickly that CPR and defibrillation restarting of the heart can take place. Some statistics have said 10 percent increase in mortality for every minute delay.

So, you saw, again, that response so quickly on the field. I think they said, within ten seconds, they were attending to him. We couldn't really see everything that took place, but now, again, based on the statement from the Bills, we know that they were able to restart his heart there on the field. So, the seconds and the minutes matter here.

And also we're -- at first, they said they may give us an update last night, which surprised me, because it takes time to get all the test results back, to not only know how the heart is doing but also understand how the rest of the organs and the body, including the brain, how much of an impact was there on these organs. That will take some time to sort of figure out.

SCIUTTO: Yes. We showed a picture there with commotio corids of a little league baseball player, because that is where we heard about cases like that, a little boy bit handgun in the chest by a baseball. I haven't typically seen that on a football field. But, goodness, so good to have you explain it for us. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.

GUPTA: You got it. Thank you.

HILL: Also joining us to discus, two former NFL players, Steve DeOssie and CNN Sports Anchor Coy Wire. It's good to see both of you this morning.

Coy, I was struck by some of your comments in the last few hours about this. Of course, it is important for our viewers to know you not only played for the Buffalo Bills, you played that same position. You played safety. There are those personal parallels for you. I'm just wondering, as a former player, when you're watching this happen, what was your immediate reaction in those moments to not only what happened to Damar Hamlin but also what we saw from the players of both teams there in those moments.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I was standing as I usually am when I'm watching a game. I'm excited and I immediately sat down on the edge of my couch when I saw him fall and started praying. Seeing that scratched open a lot of mental wounds for me, Erica. I think often as players, as professional athletes, we're able to block things out, compartmentalize and move on. But when something like this happens, a lot of stuff gets relived.

I've had many injuries. I lost consciousness several times. One time, I didn't remember what happened until I saw it on film the next day. I have a titanium plate and four screws in my neck. So, I remember how scary moments like that can be.

[10:10:02]

But those scenes, the ambulance, the players, the tears, crying, I've experienced that. Once in Buffalo, my teammate, Kevin Everett, in 2007, we were running down in a kickoff and he was paralyzed. Once when I was in college at Stanford University, my teammate, Kerry Carter, a running back, hit a safety for the Washington Huskies Curtis Williams. He was paralyzed from the neck down and he passed away two years later from complications due to that paralysis. So, these are haunting memories. Those players are not going to forget what they saw on the field on Monday night football.

SCIUTTO: Steve DeOssie, good to have you on. I remember watching you play for my New York Giants. I want to ask you. We had Donte Stallworth on last hour. He played in the NFL for ten years. I'm sure you guys have come across him. He made a couple of points. One, he said that had this happened ten years ago in the league, they might have just started the game up again, that the league has become more conscious of reacting to dangerous injuries. But he also said that players still are seen too much as commodities in this game, right? And I wonder what your view is? Has it changed the NFL how they respond to this kind of thing and has it changed enough?

STEVE DEOSSIE, FORMER NFL PLAYER: It has changed. And just before this, I got on my phone with my son who just finished a 13-year career in the NFL and he was vice president of the union and was very involved in a lot of different things. And he pointed out that they have scenarios now in place in case of certain emergencies like this, so whereas probably ten years ago, they might not have had some of these situations in place.

So, yes, it is definitely gotten better but the players still looked at as a commodity, less so than before. But I really do think that because the players come and go, I don't care if you're Tom Brady or Steve DeOssie, you go. And the owner is still there and the NFL is still there. And I understand it, it is the nature of the business. Mostly guys understand it too. It is still difficult to take especially in the light of what happened last night.

HILL: Steve, picking up on that, Colt Safety Rodney McLeod was on CNN this morning, and he said we glamorize this sport. You sort of become numb to it. You try not to think about it when you go out on the field. But as you noted, look, players out there are still a commodity. We talk a lot, and we should, about what needs to change, what has changed in terms of safety protocol and how the NFL is treating players when they are going to back out on the field.

Is there also an appetite in this country, Steve, to have the broader conversation as Americans and even globally about the way fans view this sport and the way fans lift up this sport knowing full well what can happen to these players that they love so much every time they step on that field?

DEOSSIE: You're talking about societal changes and less changes to the game itself. Any changes to the game are greeted with all sorts of skepticism when they made the game safer with some of the contact rules and the no spearing and all of these things that we used to do back in the day, there were plenty of fans who were like, oh, the league is getting soft and whatnot.

It is a smarter league now. It is smarter. They've eliminated some of the things that we were allowed to do or were of a victim of back in the day. And it is smart and it is going to get smarter. People say, oh, well let's just make it flag football. That is an overreaction. But you'll get blowback from diehard fans if you try to change the essence or the physical nature of the NFL.

SCIUTTO: Coy, you know these are tough questions to handle. I love the sport, I watch it every week. But I also worry about the dangerous -- these hits, they turn my stomach. I have had a number of concussions, I played a different sport, rugby. I know that these things are not good for you. My son just started playing. He's playing center, right? I love that he's playing but I'm worried about him taking hits to the head. I asked this to Donte as well. Is there something fundamentally violent about the game that is never going to change, right, and that folks have to accept if they enjoy it or is there more that can be done right to make it safer? WIRE: I think there is more that can be done. There will be advancements in the technology of the equipment. Jim it's a great question. And events like this are going to further and expedite, if not, expedite the research on how can we make the game as safe as possible. But it is a violent sport, a path that these men have chosen. And there are other career paths out there. That pales in comparison to the young men and women who choose to go and serve in our military. And they've put their lives at risk for all of us.

And so there certainly is room for improvement. The league is taking it seriously. I think we cannot overstate enough that there is a paradigm shift happening with regards to player health and safety. You look at the two coaches last night, Sean McDermott for the Buffalo Bills, Zach Taylor for the Cincinnati Bengals. For them to have the cognizance, the awareness to say, I'm looking at this room full of men and they are not mentally fit to continue on, and we're not going to subject them to that situation.

And we have the Tua Tagovailoa concussion situation and his head coach, McDaniel, he asked him the next day, are you okay?

[10:15:00]

I think you should go see the doctor. He reported that. That didn't happen ten years. That didn't happen five years ago, maybe not even a year ago. There is a change happening. That's going to affect the collegiate level, the youth level, most importantly. So we know to take players safety very seriously.

SCIUTTO: Well, Steve and Coy, we know you have got a lot of personal experience to this with yourself, with your family. Steve, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

DEOSSIE: Thank you.

HILL: This just into CNN, the man who wants to be the next speaker of the house, Kevin McCarthy, apparently raising his voice inside that closed door meeting of GOP lawmakers happening. Two sources say he's telling his Republican colleagues, quote, I've earned this job. We have more color for you from inside of that room. That is ahead.

SCIUTTO: Plus, the suspect in the brutal murders of four Idaho college students is expected to wave his extradition at a hearing in Pennsylvania this afternoon, allowing him to go to Idaho. The new details we expect to learn once he's back.

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SCIUTTO: Right now, House Republicans meeting behind closed doors to try to hash out who will be the next House speaker. And, boy, does it sound interesting behind those closed doors from what our reporters are finding, interesting, a little bit of profanity. HILL: Yes, a little heated. I would say, oh, to be a fly on the wall. But we sort of have those flies, because our Hill team is so good. Here is a little bit of what Kevin McCarthy said just moments ago as he went into that meeting where, of course, remember, he's trying to sell himself one more time so that he can get enough votes to become speaker. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): -- to fight for them, not for a few members here to fight for their own personal. This is about the country and we'll have to show the difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Not about your personal grievances, it is about the country.

CNN's Manu Raju live for us on Capitol Hill. McCarthy apparently raising his voice in a fiery speech. What more are you hearing?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We're hearing things are getting very heated behind closed doors. Kevin McCarthy is essentially done, he's signaling, with negotiating with this bloc of conservatives who are seeking a number of concessions to weaken the speakership, to empower them. He said he's gone so far and they have refusing to get to, yes. He's raising his voice. He's detailing everything that he has done, and he said, quote, I have earned this job.

Now, he is also getting something pushback in the room, we are told from -- our sources are telling our Capitol Hill team here that Lauren Boebert, the Colorado Republican congresswoman, said, bullshit, in response to what Kevin McCarthy said.

Now, one aspect here is Kevin McCarthy is saying he is not going anywhere. If he does not get the 218 votes on that first ballot at noon today, he's going to grind it out. He said that he's going to fight this going forward. And one of his allies, Congressman Dan Crenshaw, said those bloc of hardliners are not going to dig in as long as they are. He said, the McCarthy supporters are going to be more stubborn when it comes to this vote on the House floor. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DAN CRENSHAW (R-TX): This handful of members is very clearly looking for notoriety over principle. That is where it is. And anyone who suggests differently is in some kind of make-believe fantasy reality. It's not true.

They lost those debates. This should have been the end of it, because that is how a team works, right? You can hash this stuff out and figure it out and then you move on. But if you're a narcissist and you believe that your opinion is so much more important than everyone else is, then you'll keep going and you'll threaten to tear down the team for the benefit of the Democrats just because of your own sense of self-importance. That is exactly what is happening here. We will not vote for anyone else but McCarthy. These people think they're stubborn, we're more stubborn. If they think they're not going to get committees, then obviously they won't. It is going to be so much worse than that. They are enemies now. They have made it clear that they prefer a Democrat agenda than a Republican one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Well, right now, those conservative hardliners are not going anywhere. They say they have the votes to deny McCarthy the speakership. They're not moving off of it. And the response we're told behind closed doors, one of McCarthy's allies threatened their committee assignments, saying they would not sit on key committees if they continue to oppose McCarthy, so still playing out behind closed doors as we head into this consequential vote within two hours here, guys.

SCIUTTO: So, who is more stubborn? It sounds like a game of chicken. Manu Raju, thanks so much.

HILL: Joining us now is CNN Political Analyst Margaret Talev. Margaret, always good to see you.

I mean, the comments that we just heard from Dan Crenshaw, the details that we're getting from Manu, from our teams on the Hill about how this is playing out, how Kevin McCarthy is done at this point. He's talking about opponents coming to him with personal asks on Monday night for committee and special assignments but he's done at this point. He may be done but is there any indication that he actually has the votes?

MARGARET TALEV, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. He may actually be done. We are about to see this move from behind closed doors with live tweeting because every faction of Congress is talking to reporters about what they're seeing. We're about to see this move from that venue to the public venue. It could resolve itself and much ado about nothing. It is more likely to be a protracted drama that we haven't really seen in about a century.

And, you know, what Republicans like Dan Crenshaw are so frustrated about is that they feel very strongly that what this really does is weaken not just Kevin McCarthy but weaken the new Republican House majority and actually very much empowered the new Democratic minority.

[10:25:04]

If you're Hakeem Jeffries, you would like to be speaker. But, hey, if you're not going to be speaker, you'd like to have a very weakened speaker, whoever it is, which is why you're not hearing very much right now from Democrats. They're going to sit back and watch this play out.

But, look, here is this group. There is a dozen or so holdouts, five core holdouts who said no matter what, they are never going to back Kevin McCarthy and they are at risk of overplaying their hand and of getting shunned by their entire caucus with repercussions. But look at where they come from. They come from districts like Matt Gaetz. This district backed Donald Trump two to one in 2020. And the other four similar situations where, you know, their voters, their base is saying, tear down the House, it is time to reorder Congress. So, they really have different motivations.

SCIUTTO: Margaret, that raises a point for me, because I was thinking this in cases like this, what are their own political -- what this their political interest here, right? And the trouble is McCarthy can't give up, right? He really wants that gavel to be House speaker but those members who are standing in the way, they don't want to get voted out next term, be seen as having caved to sort of the mainstream GOP. So, how do they -- I mean, McCarthy doesn't want to blink, but how do they blink?

TALEV: I mean, it really is the $64,000 question. Look, procedurally, there are a couple of things that could happen. We talk about 218 being this threshold, 218 votes. But the kind of sub-rule to that is it is a majority of those who are voting. So, if enough of the never- McCarthy group just can be convinced to go home or skip the vote, he can get what he needs. It looks like he's going to require several rounds, though.

And the question is, for some of the members, it really is personal and they might rather have no McCarthy at any cost and that is the game of chicken that we're seeing play out right now. If you are a voter at home, a regular American at home and you think, why do I care about all this, I'm more interesting in Buffalo Bills, well, guess what, if you're looking for Congress to solve your problems or deal with inflation or China, nothing happens until there is a House speaker.

And the strength of the House speaker and that House speaker's ability to compromise with the other party, to the extent to which he's going to be empowered to make any deals with Democrats to get anything done, all of that is hugely relevant (INAUDIBLE) Congress can do anything.

HILL: It is such an important point and it is why for folks at home, just another reminder of why we're spending so much time on this because nothing will happen until there is a speaker. And it is not just about working with Democrats at this point, as we know, Margaret, it will be interesting to see if Kevin McCarthy ultimately is speaker, how he can work within his own conference.

We have a lot to watch. Get your popcorn ready, people, because this is probably not ending any time soon. Margaret, always great to see you, I appreciate it.

And just a reminder, our special coverage here of that vote for speaker will begin at noon Eastern right here on CNN.

SCIUTTO: Another story we're following closely this morning, the suspect accused of murdering four Idaho college students may soon be in Idaho to face first-degree murder charges there. He is due in a Pennsylvania court today for an extradition hearing. We're going to have the latest on the case, coming up.

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