Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still will accept an award at Wednesday night’s ESPY ceremony, but he won’t have daughter Leah with him on the stage.
The Stills are this year’s recipients of the Jimmy V Perseverance Award, named for the late college basketball coach Jim Valvano and given to those in the world of sports who have shown bravery in their battles with illness and injury. Leah Still has certainly done that in her fight against cancer and she was released from the hospital last month after dealing with complications from a stem cell transplant, but her dad announced on Instagram Tuesday that doctors won’t let her travel to Los Angeles for the event because of concerns about her immune system.
“We are short one princess but unfortunately the doctors didn’t give her the ok because her immune system is still weak,” Still wrote. “She told me to hold it down for her on that stage so that’s what I’m going to do!”
When his trip to L.A. is done, Still will resume preparations for training camp. He’ll be fighting for a job on the team’s 53-man roster and the team has said that a decision on his future will be solely a football decision.