♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, damar hamlin. signs of improvement for the buffalo bills player after suffering cardiac arre durg >> they are intensely working on damar hamlin. >> the emotional on-field scene where his life hung in the balance. >> my 13 years in the nfl, i've never seen anything like that. >> how it could change the game. >> this is a defining moment in sports. we're going to look back at this and say, man, this shifted how we approach athletes. >> and the former hockey pro who also suffered a rare heart-stopping moment midgame and survived. >> on the video you can see me kind of stand up, stumble a little bit, and then fall. plus -- >> do you have anything to say for yourself? >> judgment day. the mastermind behind the

varsity blues college admissions cheating scandal receiving the longest prison sentence of all. after helping the rich and famous bribe their children into elite universities. with more than 50 convictions from ceos to celebrities like lori loughlin of "full house." >> do you have any comment? >> and "desperate housewives" felicity huffman. >> this sent a clear message, the rules apply to everyone. "despera felicity huffman. >> this sent a clear message, the rules apply to everyone. bye, bye cough. later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! hmmm, ok. not coughing at yoga? antiquing not coughing? not coughing at the movies?! hashtag still not coughing?! aaah. oww! mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. it's not cough season. it's always comeback season.

♪ thanks for joining us. tonight as the world watches and waits, an update about nfl player damar hamlin. the buffalo bills reporting encouraging signs as hamnli in e care. his on-field collapse a shocking moment that has transcended sports. but is it enough to change the game? as the nation collectively holds its breancraging thth buffalo bills a aboreut re >> s levhi g24-yen t igoing the right direction, a you know, just hope for nothing but the best, just want him to get better. >> reporter: hamlin remains hospitalized in intensive care after suffering cardiac arrest. friends and family say the pro football star is a fighter. >> he's still here, he's still fighting. he gets a chance to see this tremendous outpouring of love

and support that he got for him. >> reporter: in a sport where injury is almost routine, this was clearly different. >> it sent chills through my body when i was watching i all i did was just sit there and pray for him, that's all you can do. >> this is a defining moment in sports. we're going to look back at that and say, man, this shifted how we approach athletes, shifted how we talk about the athlete. >> reporter: the sports world and the country felt like it came to a standstill during monday night football as hamlin's team, the buffalo bills, took on the cincinnati bengals. hamlin collapsing just seconds after a tackle. his life suddenly in jeopardy. >> damar hamlin, three, whatever you call me, it's draft day right now. a beautiful day in the life, man. >> reporter: the nation learning more about hamlin, who documented his draft into the nfl on social media and youtube. >> what's up, coach, how you doing? yeah, i'm ready to work. >> reporter: a proud pittsburgh native, this is just his second

season in the league. >> nobody has a bad thing to say about him. all those guys. they all love him. absolutely love him. end of story. >> reporter: it happened with just six minutes remaining in the first quarter. bengals wide receiver t. higgins caught ball and took off, hamlin tackling him. the two fell to the ground before hamlin briefly stood up. for a few seconds, nothing appeared to be wrong. but then the 24-year-old wobbles and collapsed on his back. >> i have watched and been involved with football since i was 7 years old. never seen anything that remotely comes close to resembling that. all of the worst-case scenarios start running through your head, while at the same time you're hoping for the best. it's just -- i really do think that the only word can describe is "surreal." >> you can see that the ambulance is out there on the field -- >> reporter: within seconds, 8:55, buffalo training staff and medical teams were at hamlin's side. he'd suffered a cardiac arrest.

players from the bills and the bengals encircling the scene. their shock and devastation clear. as the medical teams administered cpr for nine minutes. >> cardiac arrest is 100% fatal unless something is done. cpr is the required treatment of cardiac arrest. if cpr is not provided, it doesn't get better on its own. >> reporter: dr. benjamin abella is an emergency medicine physician of the hospital the university of pennsylvania specializing in cardiac arrest. >> i think really, at the end of the day, he's alive today abe aggressive application of cpr. on the field also used an aed device to shock hamlin's heart. >> in the past, defibrillators were things only medical people could use. now we have these defibrillators, automated external defibrillators, aeds. they're everywhere, airports, train stations. they're sort of like fire extinguishers in that you don't

need them until you need them. >> reporter: 9:10, 15 minutes after hamlin collapses, he was loaded onto an ambulance and taken to the hospital. >> i rushed into >> reporter: brandon marshall played 13 seasons as a wide receiver in the nfl. he's seen a lot of hurt players, but not like this. >> my 13 years in the nfl, 20-something years collectively from little league to high school football to college football, never experienced anything like that. never seen anything like that. >> reporter: at 10:00 p.m., a little more than an hour after hamlin's collapse, the nfl took the unprecedented step of postponing the game due to injury. tell me what your reaction was enwh damar in that situation. >> wn you see players crying, and i'm getting goosebumps thinking about this moment again -- when you see players crying, you know, holding their face, you know, embracing each other -- you think about life. the truth is, some of these guys, and even some of the

support staff out there, some of the fans in the stadium, some of us watching -- there's so many people that will be traumatized forever. >> reporter: at the hospital, hamlin was put on a ventilator and sedated. he was taken to intensive care and listed in critical condition. >> we appreciate all the prayers and support we've been getting from people all over, not just the country but the world. it really means a difference for my family to see that. i know it will mean a difference to mar when he sees that as well. >> reporter: the doctor says it's likely too early to know the exact cause of hamlin's cardiac arrest, but as a specialist, he has an idea. >> one likely possibility is that he suffered an entity called commodio cordus, when you get a direct blow to the center of the chest in a very, very small rare set of instances can cause someone's heart do go into arrythmia where it suddenly stops. >> to see a teammate fall like

that is incredibly difficult. >> reporter: chris pronger, retired nhl hall of famer, knows exactly what it's like to collapse from cardiac arrest mid game. >> i blocked a shot and it hit me directly in the heart. and what created what is known as commotio cordus. it hit me in the hear between heartbeats. on the video you can see me stand up, stumble, then fall. and next thing i know, i woke up, 20 or 30 seconds later, staring at the rafters. >> reporter: he recovered and played another 15 years before retiring. pronger took to twitter to send his support to damar hamlin. do you see this as a turning point? a defining moment in the way athletes are seen, less as commodity and perhaps more as humans? >> when players are putting their bodies on the line, their lives on the line in some cases, as we've just seen, we need to take care of them and make sure that their long-term health,

their life outside post-career, is managed in a proper way. to sial diaep sehow theteir lr: support for the 24-year-old, wh >>bu alff ju6 1hoeaol y,rs his family damir. >> hisrother was always around the facility. they're just like ptit of us. >> reporter: kenny pickett, the steelers' starting quarterback, played with him at pittsburgh and the two became friends. >> damar, he's an unbelievable person. does so much for the community. guy from pittsburgh, stayed home. could have went anywhere. all-around a great person, great family. >> reporter: after college, hamlin looked to the nfl draft. cameras rolling when he got the call from the buffalo bills. hamlin always had dreams beyond football. he started his own foundation

called "chasing ms," short for "chasing millions" exned on th which he bills' you channel. >> chasing ms i started in high school. it was really a slogan, a motto. just for pursuing my dreams to get to the nfl, chasing ms. i got to college, got more . ed have a deing i did once i s e ardr >> today we got a toy drive going on. just to have an event where kids can come out, get a toy. have good vibes. >> reporter: hamlin behind the scenes on that very first toy drive. his foundation now the place where people are showing their support. this year's toy drive now over, but fans have donated $7 million on the foundation's gofundme page.

>> just hoping that this is a situation where he's able to move on from it and recover from it and have a long, healthy, happy life. not even talking about football. >> at the end of the day, there's sometimes we need to say, the entertainment has to stop. we've got to put the person first. we've got to put the human first. i think that's where we're at here. >> just keep praying. the next 24 hours are critical. we love you. discussing how to proceed with the bills/bengals game and have not made an official decision yet about rescheduling. the league says the focus remains on hamlin's health. up next, the longest sentence yet in the varsity blues college admissions cheating scandal, as the mastermind faces justice. i've got moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now, there's skyrizi. ♪things are getting clearer.♪ ♪i feel free to bare my skin yeah, that's all me♪ ♪nothing and me go hand in hand♪ ♪nothing on my skin♪

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the prosecutor called it ou get their kids intoop universities. today the mastermind behind the varsity blues college admissions cheating scandal learned the price he will pay. here's abc's eva pilgrim. >> are you sorry? >> do you have anything to say for yourself? >> reporter: it's judgment day for rick singer, the mastermind behind varsity blues, the largest college admissions cheating scandal that cracked open a window into the world of the rich and famous. >> facing a big debate about college admissions in general, whether the whole system is rigged for those who have wealth and privilege. >> a who's who of celebrities and ceos are facing charges for alleged involvement --

>> reporter: the architect of that elaborate scheme helped celebrities like felicity huffman and lori loughlin cheat their kids into america's most elite colleges, including yale, usc, and stanford. singer was sentenced today to three years and six months in prison, plus three years probation. >> this sent a clear message to wealthy people around the country, that the rules apply to er fevederal investigation led to a devastating fall for grace from the conspirators, celebrities, ceos and business leaders losing careers. >> most of the people who were convicted in this case have spent time in prison. so it's less about the amount of time than the fact that all of these people went to prison. >> reporter: prosecutors said they uncovered bribes from parents to exam officials to cheat on their children's tests, as well as payoffs to coaches for athletic slots. singer and coconspirators even staging photos for applicants

who never played sports. among the convicted, actress felicity huffman, famous for her role in "desperate housewives." >> you're asking for a bribe? >> reporter: she paid singer $15,000 to have a proctor correct her older daughter's s.a.t. answers. >> do you guys have any comment? >> reporter: also convicted, "full house" star lori loughlin. >> he may have embellished, lied a bit on our application. >> reporter: loughlin and her husband, fashion designer massimo giannulli, paid singer roughly $500,000 to get their two daughters into usc as phony crew recruits, despite the fact that neither rowed. now 23, olivia is a social media influencer known as olivia jade to nearly 2 million subscribers on her youtube channel. >> this is olivia jade. >> reporter: she'd initially landed paid partnerships with 7 phoria, 3 sell may, and amazon. after news of the cheating

scandal, all three brands terminated their relationships with her. >> i think there were a lot of parents who probably felt like maybe they were skirting the rules. but weren't committing a crime. it is critical to remember that it's likely that none of these parents would have done this if it weren't for rick singer. >> hi, i'm rick singer, founder of the key. as a father myself, i understand the stress that college emissions processes can put on family. >> reporter: investigators said the key was a fake college nonprofit through which singer funneled bribes. >> this enabled the parents to not only mask the true nature of the payment, but also take the tax write-off at the end of the year. >> reporter: once a businessman raking in $25 million from his rich and famous clients, he's now living in a mobile community in florida, a far cry from the lavish lifes he once led in a california mansion. >> are you pretty pleased with

the judge's sentencing? how do you feel about the teg? dg ijute' is a sobering day in court. but we're relieved that it's done. and rick is resilient, and he is committed to a future that's based on service to the underserved. >> reporter: before the sentence was handed down, singer read a letter to the courtroom saying, "all my life i just wanted to help kids and their families improve their lives. however, despite my passion to help others, i lost my ethical values and have so much regret. to be frank, i'm ashamed of myself." >> i know this is an unpopular thing to say, but i have more sympathy for some of these parents than i do for rick singer. because he was the one who made this happen. he was the one who encouraged the parents to do it. >> reporter: to date, more than 50 parents, coaches, and facilitators have been convicted in the scandal.

in 2019, huffman pled guilty to her part in the scandal, admitting to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. her punishment, 14 days in jail, 250 hours of community service, and a $30,000 fine. loughlin served two months in prison, and her husband, giannulli, served five months. both pleading guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. >> lori, pay for my tuition, lori! >> reporter: both olivia and isabella dropped out of usc and have not returned to college. >> i think it's very unlikely that this exact scenario would happen again. the question becomes, what about the different other ways that wealthy families can get in the side door at colleges? be it donations, alumni. and those are questions that i think universities are going to have to grapple with in the years to come.

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finally, two brothers and the new family they're now a part of. here's abc's david muir. >> reporter: tonight in charlotte, north carolina, the walker family is celebrating. it has been an incredible journey to get to this new year. ♪ happy birthday to you ♪ >> reporter: in recent months, first the birthday for abraham. his reaction, pure joy. it was his first birthday cake. abraham was adopted from sierra leone. a month later, abraham's big brother, james, it was his turn. the walkers are now a family of eight. first came the birthdays, then the u.s. citizenship ceremony, signing the paper work, waving the america flag, reciting the pledge of allegiance. then christmas and the new year together. >> it makes me feel like i'm already born in this country, and i've got a family. >> what a great american family

and a beautiful moment to start the new year. our thanks to david. that's "nightline" for tonight. watch our full episodes on hulu. see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america.