Meet ‘Yousef,’ the Northeast Ohio native and doctor referenced by Damar Hamlin at NFL Honors

Author: Monica Robins / February 10, 2023

During his speech at the NFL Honors ceremony, Damar Hamlin thanked a doctor named ‘Yousef.’ It turns out that he’s from Greater Cleveland.

CLEVELAND — As Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin stood on stage at the NFL Honors ceremony with a crowd of lifesavers behind him, representing the doctors and trainers who helped save his life after his cardiac arrest, he made sure to single one out who wasn’t there. 

“My third night awake in the hospital, I met an ICU doctor. His name was Yousef,” Hamlin said. 

He was referring to Dr. Yousef Raslan, a Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School graduate [and Case Western/Delta Tau Delta alumnus] who is currently a chief anesthesia resident at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Dr. Raslan was not part of Hamlin’s care team, but he does work at the hospital where the football player spent a week. In fact, he also spent days there last March for a similar situation. 

“I really do understand what he went through because I went through it myself,” Dr. Raslan said.