Video game developer EA Sports is removing from “Madden NFL 23” the CPR touchdown celebration in light of last week’s collapse of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
In the current iteration of “Madden NFL 23,” players can trigger the CPR celebration, in which one of their players lies down, one does the CPR, and one mimics a defibrillator, as one of the team celebration options.
“EA Sports is taking steps to remove the celebration from Madden NFL 23 via an update in the coming days,” an EA Sports spokesperson told CBS Sports.
Just as the CPR celebration may soon be phased out of virtual football, doing it on the real field is also now considered in bad taste.
Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Alex Highsmith laid down after sacking Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson on the second-to-last play of the game between the two teams Sunday.
Defensive end DeMarvin Leal came over and did the fake chest compressions.
SEE ALSO: Bills safety Damar Hamlin discharged from Buffalo hospital
Highsmith has since apologized.
“I just want people to know that I have nothing but love for Damar and his family … I’m just thankful for the miraculous work God has done with Damar’s life. I just want people to know that there was nothing intentional about that. It was never planned, none of that,” Highsmith told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Hamlin suffered from cardiac arrest after making a tackle on Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins on Jan. 2 during a primetime Monday Night Football broadcast.
He received several minutes of on-field CPR before being stretchered onto an ambulance that had driven onto the field and taken to a Cincinnati hospital. He would later be moved to a Buffalo facility.
On Wednesday, Hamlin was discharged from the Buffalo hospital in order to continue rehabilitation at home and with the Bills, according to a tweet from the team.
An amazing Damar Hamlin update. ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/GyP2uDQry0
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) January 11, 2023
