Most of the time when we watch professional sports we see
super human athletes doing something most of the rest of the world will never
be able to do. Other times we see
controversy and scrutiny of these players because they are held to a higher
standard, or are in the public eye more than the average individual. Not to
often do we look out into the crowd and see the hero’s sitting in the seats
surrounding these athletes. In the case of Devon Still a Cincinnati Bengals
defensive tackle, this is the case every Sunday he walks out on to the field.
The reason Still has this view is because even though he is
not a well known name in the NFL, today he has the highest selling jersey
numbers (10,000 orders) in the NFL. The reason Still has the highest sales in
the league is because part of the proceeds from the specific jersey sales are
donated to Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center. The Bengals plan to present a
check to the medical center for 1 Million dollars gathered from the sales of
the jerseys.
The reason for the support is for the recent discovery of
Still’s daughter Leah and her development of Pediatric cancer. Still and four-year-old
daughter Leah have become the national faces of pediatric cancer as she battles
Stage 4 of the disease since she was diagnosed in June with a Neuroblastoma
tumor in her abdomen. Not only Bengals fans, but also people in all 50 states,
Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia responded to the club offering
Still’s jersey for $100 in the Bengals Pro Shop as a way to raise funds for
cancer research at Cincinnati Children’s.
In a
weekend press release the Bengals outlined how they’ll handle the sales. The
club absorbs the cost of the first 10,000 jerseys at about $500,000 with the full
sale price going to Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center. On sales in excess of
10,000, the hospital continues to benefit from all sales minus the cost of the
jerseys.
As
described on the Bengals Pro Shop website October 19th will be the
last day the public will be able to order said jersey. However they do provide
a place where you can donate to cancer care and research listed here: https://www.pldgit.com/campaign/768450939739702307
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| http://proshop.bengals.com/Devon-Still-Game-Jersey-468948-DS-Blk-2/ |
The
NFL participates in several cancer research, and philanthropy’s throughout the
season, which can be viewed here:
If you have the time and ability I encourage you to get
involved in some sort of community group or donate to one of several charities
either within the NFL or within pro sports in general.
Sometimes competition takes a back seat to things that become more important. Being a good human being makes you a hero to the hero's you see out on the field. Understanding a situation and being compastionate of others situations are some of the greatest things we can learn in our life time.
That’s all for now, in the meantime…
Keep moving forward!
This is good to know about - did they raise a lot of money for the children's hospital? I hope Leah recovers.
ReplyDeleteLeah is still fighting the good fight. She is going to see her father play in person for the first time tonight when the Bengals take on the Browns for #thursdaynightfootball.
DeleteThere were 15,000 jerseys sold, and over $1.25 million raised for the hospital by the end of the campagin.