Steelers' Alex Highsmith apologizes for 'CPR' sack celebration after Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith has apologized for celebrating a sack in Sunday's season finale by pretending to receive CPR from a teammate.

Football fans were outraged by seeing the post-sack festivities following Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin's on-field cardiac arrest in Week 17. Hamlin has made a remarkable recovery since being resuscitated on the turf in Cincinnati on January 2 and is now undergoing observation at a Buffalo-area hospital, where doctors remain encouraged with his progress.

Speaking with reporters on Monday, Highsmith apologized, saying he did not make the connection between his celebration and Hamlin's ordeal only days earlier.

'I just don't want people to think of me that way and think I was doing anything [intentional],' Highsmith said, as quoted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 'Because I would never, ever, ever, ever want to do that intentionally, and I never, ever would do that.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith has apologized for celebrating a sack in Sunday's season finale by pretending to receive CPR from a teammate

Speaking with reporters on Monday, Highsmith apologized, saying he did not make the connection between his celebration and Hamlin's ordeal only days earlier

'I just want people to know that I have nothing but love for Damar and his family,' he continued. 'When that happened, I was shook for a couple days. Me and my wife, we were watching the game, we immediately saw it and intentionally started praying, intentionally prayed for him, his parents, the doctors, the nurses.

'Because me and her, we're both followers of Christ. We both believe that prayer is powerful, and I'm just thankful for the miraculous work God has done with Damar's life. I just want people to know that there was nothing intentional about that. It was never planned. None of that.'

While it was Highsmith who pretended to be revived on the field, there has been some confusion over the Steelers player who mimed performing chest compressions on his teammate. Although video from the celebration remains inconclusive, some distinctive arm bands worn by Steelers defensive end Demarvin Leal indicate that he was the culprit.

Team spokespeople did not respond to DailyMail.com's request to identify the player.

Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin is examined after suffering a cardiac arrest on January 2 

A similar sack celebration is included in the animation for EA Sports' 'Madden' video game, but the company has vowed to remove it following Hamlin's cardiac arrest.  

On Sunday, football fans watching on CBS noticed immediately and many took to social media in outrage.

'I've lost all respect for that team. If Mike Tomlin doesn’t address that despicable act, he’ll lose my respect too,' one said, while another posted: 'Not a good look Steelers, not even close! Unprofessional and disgusting.'

Another wrote: 'What the hell was that CPR celebration from that Steelers player?!'

A different fan said: 'Nice to see the Steelers paying tribute and showing love to Hamlin by doing a CPR celebration on that sack.'

Hamlin, 24, has shared the first image of himself from his hospital bed in Cincinnati