The intersection of prayer and sports has been especially prominent in the aftermath of Damar Hamlin鈥檚 frightening collapse during an NFL game.

All 32 NFL teams have included 鈥淧ray for Damar鈥 on their Twitter avatars. ESPN鈥檚 Countless fans and other concerned observers said on social media they were praying, and dozens linked arms outside his Cincinnati hospital.

鈥淚n commemorating life or death in sport, people say pray, pray, pray a lot,鈥 said Julie Byrne, chair of the Religion Department at Hofstra University. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it reaches the pitch that you have here because of the incredibly dramatic circumstances. But it鈥檚 a pretty go-to response.鈥

It was amplified in Hamlin鈥檚 case partly because people now can offer instant expressions of prayer or any other reaction on social media. Plus, it was a high-profile 鈥淢onday Night Football鈥 game between Hamlin鈥檚 Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals with millions watching or getting alerts about the alarming incident on their phones.

Hamlin鈥檚 heart stopped after making what appeared to be a routine tackle in the first quarter. The second-year pro went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated on the field.

On Friday, after having his breathing tube removed, his agent said. Doctors described Hamlin鈥檚 neurological function as 鈥渆xcellent鈥 Saturday.

Players from both teams knelt on the field in prayer, not an uncommon scene in a sport that has seen plenty of scary injuries. Each week after every game, many players from both teams join together in a prayer circle, holding hands and kneeling; 63% of adults in the United States with 45% saying they pray daily, according to the

The expression of faith has been carried out very publicly in Hamlin鈥檚 case.

鈥淚t is new in terms of the scale and the scope,鈥 said Paul Putz, assistant director of the Faith & Sports Institute at Baylor University. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not common to see someone on a national television network who opens in prayer or just issues a prayer during the broadcast. That certainly is something that鈥檚 new, but it also does reflect this broader Christian subculture in the NFL.鈥

Orlovsky, a former NFL quarterback, prayed for Hamlin during Tuesday鈥檚 鈥淣FL Live鈥 broadcast as his two co-hosts bowed their heads and said 鈥淎men鈥 when he was done.

鈥淚f we didn鈥檛 believe that prayer (works), we wouldn鈥檛 ask this of you, God,鈥 Orlovsky said in the prayer. 鈥淚 believe in prayer. We believe in prayer. We lift up Damar Hamlin鈥檚 name in Your name."

Afterward, Orlovsky told the AP in a text: 鈥淚t was on my heart. The more we pray, the more Damar may come out of it.鈥

Bills coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane both thanked God in separate news conferences.

鈥淚鈥檓 a Christian man to begin with and I鈥檓 not afraid to say that, and I know when you are trying to do good things or great things, sometimes you come across opposition," McDermott said when asked about the team's ability to respond to adversity.

NFL executive Troy Vincent, a five-time Pro Bowl cornerback during his 15-year career, praised God in an emotional news conference.

鈥淢y greatest fear flashed in front of me in the moment but for the goodness and grace of God, Damar is still here,鈥 Vincent told the AP in a text.

The Jaguars and Titans came together at midfield before their showdown for the AFC South title on Saturday night and knelt down in .

On Sunday, the NFL Players Association will share a prayer by Reverend Dr. William J. Barber for Hamlin and the entire NFL community.

鈥淩everend Barber has been a voice for equality, justice, faith and hope for millions of Americans," NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said. 鈥淲hen we connected in the aftermath of the traumatic injury suffered by Damar Hamlin, we were both moved by the unity on display not only by Bills and Bengals players, but by NFL players across our league and everyone in our community. His prayer is in the spirit of that unity and how our membership 鈥 also working Americans 鈥 brought our nation and our world together in the most challenging moments.鈥

Jeffrey Scholes, associate professor of religious studies at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, said he hasn鈥檛 seen such a public outpouring of prayer in any sport.

鈥淒an Orlovsky breaking out in prayer was just kind of stunning,鈥 said Scholes, who has written several books on religion and sports. 鈥淚鈥檝e never seen anything like that. It looked more like the 700 Club than it did ESPN for a bit there.鈥

He said football has always been more closely tied to faith than other major sports. Plus, it was a big game among two of the top AFC teams and it was far from a standard injury.

鈥淚 think that the amount of prayer around this event makes a little more sense in that this event was so rare, disturbing, traumatic for those watching, for the players, for the coaches,鈥 Scholes said. 鈥淚 think a call for divine intervention via prayer is more expected.鈥

is the only NFL player to die on the field. The 28-year-old Detroit Lions wide receiver suffered a fatal heart attack late in a game against the Chicago Bears on Oct. 24, 1971. Putz said later newspaper accounts wrote of the players praying in their locker rooms.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have the public processing of (Hughes) in real time,鈥 the Baylor professor said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 something millions of people were engaged with at the same time.

In 1971, Chuck Hughes 鈥 people were responding with prayer," he added. 鈥淚n 2023 when this happens with Hamlin, people responded with prayer again. But now, it鈥檚 amplified and scaled up because of the way social media works.鈥

Putz himself focused on praying and not trying to analyze the overtly prayerful response from a historian's perspective. Time will tell if it鈥檚 a new normal in the social media world.

鈥淚 think over time then we鈥檒l come to realize what this signified, what it highlighted about the ongoing connection between religion and sports, which have been going on for a long time,鈥 Putz said.

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AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.

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