Player Style Files: Cincinnati Bengal Devon Still's Story Much More Than Football
David Heim, CBS Local Sports
Devon Still’s story might be more unique than any other player in the National Football League. Drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft, Still obtained similar fortunes like the rest of the league’s players.
With his wealth have come his splurges, like a Range Rover fully equipped with heated seats to brace the coldest of Cincinnati winters. Or, his monstrous shoe collection.
“I’m obsessed with sneakers,” Still said. “When I first got into the NFL I went on a splurge, just buying Jordans every time they came out.”
Still attests his passion for having a surplus of sneakers because things weren’t always so easy in the shoe department growing up.
“When I was growing up we really didn’t have a lot of money,” Still said. “I have two other siblings so we could only afford one pair of sneakers each. When I got into the NFL and was blessed with all the money, I think I wanted to catch up to all those kids that had a bunch of sneakers when I was young.”
Still says now, that drive for sneaker shopping has taken a back seat. In fact, many things in Still’s life have taken a back seat.
In June 2014, Still’s daughter, Leah, was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma stage 4 cancer.
Since the diagnosis, Leah and Devon has received an outpouring of support, especially throughout the NFL.
“I think the NFL is more like a brotherhood,” Still said. “When we’re on that field we’re competing, but when we step off the field we definitely share things with each other to help each other get better. It’s not always a competition.”
Still admitted the blindsided feeling he felt throughout the early stages of his daughter’s diagnosis.
“When we were going through our battle with cancer, there was no handbook,” Still said. “Nobody sat us down and told us how it would be to transition from living a normal life to dealing with cancer.”
As a result of that, Devon and Leah, who loves to read, have written a handbook of their own to help children diagnosed with cancer make the transition easier.
On Wednesday, March 25., Devon and Leah found out that Leah’s cancer is officially in remission. Still took to his Instagram account to announce the good news.
"After 296 days of day dreaming about what it would feel like to hear the doctors say my daughter is in remission, I finally know the feeling," wrote Still, 25. "When I look at my daughter all I can do is smile and hug her … I'm so proud and blessed to call her my daughter."
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