EA Sports announced they’re removing the CPR touchdown celebration from Madden NFL 23, out of respect for NFL Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin.
Earlier this month, Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
CPR was performed on the field and Hamlin was surrounded by fellow players in order to prevent the incident from becoming a spectacle.
“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.
It’s not just EA Sports who’s reacting to the touchdown taunting.
Last Sunday, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith apologized for doing it in a real NFL match – an act which some spectators considered insensitive.
The company hasn’t said when the taunt will be removed from the game, only that it will be in an upcoming update. Past versions of Madden are speculatively unaffected.
Madden NFL 23 is available now on Windows PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and the Xbox Series X/S.