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Those of you know have read my articles or listened to my show on SiriusXM radio, you know that I tend to have some strong opinions. Every now and then I will rant and rave about a topic that is important to me. Luckily (or unlucky I suppose) as Assistant G.M. subscribers you will receive one of these rants in your email box every week. It’s a little thing that I like to call: One MANS Opinion.
The NFL has taken on a ton of negative press over the last couple of months and rightfully so considering Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson and many others who have made disgraces of themselves and the league. It has become en vogue to bash the league and to refer to players as anything from Neanderthals to criminals.
But I want to talk about something positive and downright heart warming that is happening in the NFL right now. That is the outpouring of support that the league and its fans as a whole have shown toward Cincinnati Bengals DT Devon Still and his family.
If you haven’t heard the story of Devon Still and his four-year-old Daughter Leah, you might want to grab a few tissues before we continue. Devon Still is a 25-year-old defensive tackle that was selected in the second round by the Bengals in 2012. He was the Big Ten Defensive Player Of The Year before entering the draft and is a very skilled player to say the least.
But back in June of this year Still’s Daughter Leah was diagnosed with stage four Neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer that manifests itself in lymph nodes and other bodily organs. Stage four means that it is the fastest moving form of this cancer and that Leah had to have surgery in addition to numerous rounds of chemotherapy. It is among the worst things you could ever think of happening to a child.
At this point I would just like to point out that unfortunately I have a lot of experience in dealing with cancer. When I was 13 my Father was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma another form of the disease that attacks your lymph nodes. For nearly ten years my Dad battled the disease before it eventually spread to his colon and then his throat. He passed away on November 4th, 1999.
So I grew up spending many, many hours, days and weeks in chemotherapy wards and radiation dens of hospitals. They are quite simply the saddest places on earth. Places where pain and suffering are constant and hope is the only thing that keeps you going. The thought of a child having to go through this sort of pain makes you truly wonder about just how cruel life can be.
I have a four-year-old Son, the same age as Devon Still’s Daughter, Leah. In addition I have two older Daughters’ one of which was born with a significant heart defect called Ebstein’s Anomaly. So this story hits home in a major way with me personally.
But despite my history with dealing with cancer and the illness of a child, I cannot even begin to understand what Devon Still and his family is going through right now. Luckily for Still however, the NFL, for all of it’s negative press these days is truly a brotherhood. We can say a lot of things about how the NFL has handled injuries or their retired players in the past but the bond between teammates, league-mates and fans is really second to none.
As you can imagine Devon Still had a very difficult time concentrating on football this summer. Leah’s diagnosis came just a week before Bengals team OTA’s and a few weeks later the start of training camp. Still has admitted to almost pulling the plug on his career after Leah’s diagnosis but decided he needed to keep playing. Well, he didn’t play very well at all and the Bengals had to cut him during their final round of cuts in early September.
But instead of this being another blow to Still and his family, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. You see, the Bengals cut him in order to add him back to their practice squad. By doing so, Still and his family would continue to receive the NFL insurance benefits and it allowed him to remain home with his Daughter while she sought treatment.
But the generosity didn’t end there nor did it remain in Cincinnati alone. The Bengals organization decided to help raise money for pediatric cancer treatment by selling her Father’s #75 jersey on their website. All of the proceeds from the sale of the jersey go to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital where Leah is receiving treatment. The Bengals have already announced that sales of the jersey have gone wild and that they will be presenting the hospital with a check for over $1 million dollars.
New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton heard about what the Still family was going through and ordered 100 Devon Still jerseys.
The Today Show featured Leah Still in a music video sung my Cyndi Lauper & Sara Bareilles as part of their “Truly Brave” campaign to raise awareness for children’s cancer.
The Houston Texans sent Leah Still a massive care package centering on the movie “Frozen” which is her favorite movie.
Then there was the scene at Gillette Stadium on Sunday Night Football when the Bengals visited the struggling Patriots. Early in the third quarter the stadium scoreboard ran the Truly Brave music video tribute as the Patriots cheerleaders removed their jackets to display matching #75 Cincinnati Bengals jerseys in support of their opponent that night. Even more, Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced he was donating $25,000 to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Leah Still’s name. It was one of the most generous and touching things that I have ever seen in professional sports. It made me proud to be a fan of the NFL once again.
Speaking of the fans. Devon Still has reported that his home is literally flooded with gifts to Leah that are coming in from all over the world. These are not from friends, family or even Bengals fans. These gifts are from a community of people all over the world who love the NFL and just want to show their support for Leah Still and her family.
To me, this is what sports are all about. The bond we form over the games that we love cannot be broken. Sure they get tested. Tested to their very core. But no matter how many stories we hear about players and coaches getting DUI’s, testing positive for drugs or beating up their old ladies we need to remember that the overwhelming majority of athletes are good people.
Of course, what do I know? I am just a frosted tip radio show host who has dedicated his life to commenting on sports. You may not agree, but that is OK because this was just One MANS Opinion.