BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) 鈥 Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin said Wednesday he never intended to offend anyone for attending the Super Bowl wearing a jacket that critics deemed to feature an offensive depiction of Jesus.
鈥淎fter talking with my parents I understand how my coat could have offended some people,鈥 Hamlin wrote in a note . 鈥淚t was never my intentions to hurt or disrespect anyone, the coat is abstract art to me.鈥
Hamlin closed his two-post thread by saying he will continue to learn from the situation while adding: 鈥淢y beliefs and Relationship with God is not tied to symbolic images.鈥
The second-year player continues recovering after having to be resuscitated on the field after six weeks ago created a stir for being pictured wearing a Kanye West Eternal Saint blue varsity jacket during pregame ceremonies and sitting in NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell鈥檚 box at the Super Bowl in Arizona on Sunday.
The back of the jacket featured an abstract illustration of Jesus on the cross under the word 鈥淓TERNAL.鈥 The front featured an abstract depiction of Jesus' face and appears to reference a Bible verse that reads: 鈥淲ithout end or beginning there is no day and no night."
Among the critics were former NFL running back Adrian Peterson, who referred to the jacket as 鈥渂lasphemy鈥 on Monday.
A day later, Peterson wrote that he has since cleared the air with Hamlin.
鈥淎fter speaking with Damar, I have an understanding that it didn鈥檛 come from a place of ill intent,鈥 Peterson wrote. 鈥淚 apologize for offending you, I just felt offended in that moment as a man who loves and respects our Lord and Savior.鈥
Hamlin, who received the last week, took part in a pregame ceremony in which the NFL honored the Bills and Bengals training and medical staffs and first responders who treated the 24-year-old from the Pittsburgh area on the field, and the staff at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he spent nearly a week recovering.
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