Sebastian Vollmer has expressed his regret over the incident surrounding safety Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills. He reminds that players are not just players, they are human beings.

Two-time Super Bowl champion Sebastian Vollmer has called for more empathy from fans in the wake of Damar Hamlin’s serious injury.

“You should put yourself more in the role of the player who literally puts his life on the line to live his dream, which sometimes becomes a nightmare,” he told the Funke Mediengruppe.

Since American football is “entertainment on all levels”, he believes that this is “sometimes forgotten”. Regarding the incident with Hamlin, who collapsed during his Buffalo Bills’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals and was subsequently put into an artificial coma, Vollmer himself expressed empathy: “I was very taken by it. They are terrifying images. I also thought about the helplessness of the family,” said the former New England Patriots offensive lineman.

The 38-year-old sees another change in the rules to protect players in American football as wrong. Helmets have improved and the rules have become clearer, he said, adding that he was “not aware of any way” to make the sport safer “without changing the sport itself. Then it wouldn’t be American football any more. “