Former NFL Player Devon Still Shares Personal Playbook for Life's Struggles
*By Tracey Cheek*
Devon Still, a former defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals, is sharing his personal playbook ー "Still in the Game," a self help-style manual for success.
Still, who retired from the NFL in 2017, told Cheddar the new book revisits his most dramatic challenges ー most notably, his daughter's cancer diagnosis.
"I went through a lot of struggles throughout my life ー from the type of environment I grew up in, the six different surgeries I had on my way to the NFL, and of course, my daughter Leah's story with battling cancer," he said.
"I basically taught her my playbook on how she could overcome this disease. I wanted to give people this book basically so they could have a playbook to get off the sidelines if they're facing a struggle in their life and get back into the game of life."
Still's daughter is now eight-years-old and has been in remission for almost four years. But now her father is faced with another set of more traditional difficulties.
"I gotta teach her about boys early on, I see," Still said, adding that Leah recently received her first love letter.
His former team, the Cincinnati Bengals, allowed Still's jersey to be sold off and donated the proceeds to pediatric cancer research. The sale brought in $1.25 million.
"We showed people what it was like for families battling childhood cancer, I think people really came on and supported us," Still said of the effort.
Still created the Still Strong Foundation to help families impacted by childhood cancer cover non-medical bills so they can less time working and devote more hours to fighting the disease alongside their children in the hospital.
For Still, his football career was on the beginning.
"For me it wasn't my destination, but it was my vehicle to help me get to my destination. I feel like I have a lot of stuff ahead of me that's going to trump anything that I ever did on a football field."
"Still in the Game" is available in stores and online.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/former-nfl-player-devon-still-is-still-in-the-game).
LeBron James will serve his first-ever NBA suspension tonight against the New York Knicks after getting into an on-court squabble with Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart. Stewart will also serve a two-game suspension for escalating the fight.
Jill and Carlo are a bit delayed today on account of Carlo's internet not working. Better late than never, they discuss what we know about the suspect in the Christmas parade crash, closing arguments in the Arbery killing trial, and more.
Special Olympics and WWE are announcing a three-year partnership extension of their global partnership to help create inclusion through sports. Mary Davis, CEO of Special Olympics and WWE superstar and Special Olympics Global Ambassador, Drew McIntyre join Cheddar News to talk about the announcement.
NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and his daughter/business partner Jaqui Rice Gold joined Cheddar's "Between Bells" to talk about their energy drink G.O.A.T. Fuel. The pair talked about launching the brand during the height of the pandemic and what makes it different from competing brands. "The thing that separates us from the other energy drinks is we have cordyceps mushrooms in the drink," he said. "You're not going to have the jitters or anything like that." The duo also discussed the Los Angeles Lakers making it the official energy drink of its organization and what that means for the growth of the brand.
Jill and Carlo cover the developing story out of suburban Milwaukee, where a speeding SUV careened through a Christmas parade. Looters get more brazen in San Francisco, the missing Chinese tennis star resurfaces, and more.
Alternative asset, sports cards-focused platform Alt recently raised $75 million in a Series B round. Alt's platform lets users research, trade, and securely store sports cards and other high-value assets. Right now, the company has more than $70 million worth of cards in its vault. The company is also hoping to get into other assets, including NFTs. Alt CEO Leore Avidar joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Ameeth Sankaran, CEO of the emmy-winning media company Religion of Sports, joined Cheddar to talk about the "Man in the Arena: Tom Brady" docuseries that premiered on ESPN+ earlier this week. Sankaran noted Brady and former NFL star Michael Strahan as co-founders and discussed the origin of the company and its goal to tell stories about sports figures beyond their roles on the court or field.
A former live-in-chef for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown has claimed the NFL star lied about his COVID vaccination status and obtained a fake proof of vaccination card. Brown and the Bucs have since come out denying the claims.
Jill and Carlo are back to cover the latest in the Rittenhouse trial, new information on the origins of Covid, return-to-office and more.
JOIN US FOR THE YOUTUBE WATCH PARTY @ 9aET: http://www.youtube.com/cheddarnow
Ben Stinar, NBA reporter for Fastbreak on FanNation, joins Cheddar Bets to provide some one-month-in overreactions and underreactions to some of the NBA betting lines.
Sponsored by BetMGM