Cincinnati Bengals’ Defensive Tackle Devon Still was released by the team this offseason.
This was before his 4-year-old daughter Leah was diagnosed with cancer.
The Bengals re-signed Still and decided to donate all the proceeds from his #75 jersey sales to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital pediatric cancer research fund.
Leah was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma June 2 and underwent major surgery in September to remove the deadly tumor. On the way to the hospital, Devon gave his biggest fan this pep-talk:
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Since the surgery, Leah has been recovering at Still’s home in Philadelphia. This week marks the first time she will be healthy enough to travel and watch her daddy play the game he loves.
A visibly emotional Still told the Cincinnati Enquirer how excited he was to play in front of his daughter:
“I’ll be able to touch her, I’ll be able to hug her, which is totally different from being able to FaceTime her. I can’t wait until she shows up here Wednesday and can go to her first game here. The crowd will go crazy. They’ve been supporting her this whole time with her being all the way in Philadelphia, and I know her being in Cincinnati, them having a chance to see her, is going to get the crowd kind of hyped up.”
“It’s going to be added motivation just knowing my daughter is watching me… It’s a fast week and I don’t want to get caught up in too much emotion with my daughter, (but) it will probably be the most special game I’m ever going to play because I know my daughter is going to be here to watch me play.”
At halftime of Thursday’s game against the Browns, the Bengals will deliver a check for $1.25 million to Leah and hospital officials, according to NFL.com.
“All the money that’s been raised for the cancer research is because of her strength and because she’s fighting this disease. So it’s definitely going to be an emotional game for me.”