This story caught my attention…
The Cincinnati Bengals released defensive tackle Devon Still just before the season started. The team’s 2012 second-round draft pick was just not cutting it on the field. His mind was elsewhere. And who could blame him.
Still’s 4-year-old daughter, Leah, is battling cancer.
Shortly after releasing him, the team signed him to the practice squad. This allows Still to maintain a salary and receive the NFL’s health insurance.
“They could have just washed their hands completely of it,” Still said. “Say we don’t care what’s going on in his personal life, we just want people who can care 100 percent on football, that’s what they pay us to do. But they thought about my personal issues and allowed me to come back on the practice squad so I still have insurance. They said if I keep working on my physical with my injury and mentally prepared myself to focus on football, then they can move me back up to the roster, so I am not all the way out of the loop. …
“The Bengals were loyal to me. I’m not about to up and leave them. Loyalty is something I really need right now because I never know what direction this is going to go with my daughter.”
That alone was an awesome gesture. But the team didn’t stop there.
The team is offering Devon Still game jerseys for $100 with all proceeds going to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and pediatric cancer care and research.
Less than 24 hours after listing the sale of Still’s jersey, a team official told ESPN.com that more of the defensive tackle’s black No. 75 jerseys had been sold in that time span than any jersey featuring any other Bengals player ever.
Ever.
The pro shop even crashed due to the large volume of traffic caused by the response to Still’s story.
The NFL is a huge business. The game is constantly in the spotlight, and not always for the best reasons. It is great to hear a story like this and see how a league and a team can do something bigger than the game and create a movement that will help Leah and other kids just like her receive the care they need.
