An NFL Team you can really root for : Faith in humanity = Restored

STORIES WORTH SHARING

The Cincinnati Bengals made arguably their greatest move of the season this week

The Bengals re-signed defensive tackle Devon Still to their practice squad Sunday to help him pay for his 4-year-old daughter's cancer treatments. He was waived by the team last Saturday.

I know the team may simply be looking at it from a PR angle and see it as an investment more than an action of goodwill, but even if that's the case it doesn't matter, cause they are doing it. Bottom line is the Bengals did something this world is lacking, they had to sack a player, but knowing the circumstances around his performance and his personal life, they found a position for him in the practice squad where he earns a 6k a a week salary, but most importantly MEDICAL BENEFITS.

The US sucks for healthcare, so it's way more than just a job, it's not only going to help his kid but he gets to continue what he loves doing. A+ for the Bengals, a real team you can root for. Also nice to see Football come out in the media with such a positive spin.

America's true national sport.

Source

Still learned back in June that his daughter, Leah, has stage-four pediatric cancer. Since the diagnosis, Still's mind understandably hasn't been completely on football as he missed parts of organized team activities and minicamp this offseason to be with his daughter, which is why he understood the team's decision to cut him.
"I completely understand where the Bengals were coming from when they cut me because I couldn't give football 100 percent," Still told ABC News.
But when Still received the call this morning that he had been signed to the practice squad and would receive health insurance as well as a weekly salary of $6,300, he was incredibly grateful. Still also will remain in the game he loves, for the team that drafted him, without all of the traveling, meaning he can be closer to his daughter as she undergoes treatments.
"They could have washed their hands with me and said they didn't care about what I was going through off the field," Still said. "It's like a blessing in disguise for me."

a reply to: boncho

Yea, this is a great story... What's good is that the team didn't need to put him on the 53 man roster, but was able to squeeze him on the 10 man practice squad so his daughter could get the necessary cancer treatment.. The Bengals got this one right for sure...

Now, is faith in humanity restored? No way... We still have a LONG ROAD ahead of us before we can call it restored...

Either way, great story and I hope the girls cancer is destroyed and she is in full remission before know it

I may have to officially start rooting for a different team now....

Great story, maybe acts like this will start encouraging a pay it forward mentality across the rest of the population.

S&F

~Namaste

a reply to: boncho

My faith in humanity would be restored if other corporations large and small would look at the way the NFL does business in general.........and follows suit. Yes, this is definitely a great move by the Bengals and I truly believe they did it to help the man and his family, with the PR aspect being the result of THAT action and not the other way around. But you have to look at the big picture as well. I've been following football all my life and I can tell you that this is par for the course with the way the NFL tries to maintain it's professional integrity. They have always been big on helping their own, communities and others in need, and this should put a spotlight on that so people can start to see that the NFL not only are the good guys in the corporate world, but they know how to run and maintain a profitable business decade after decade.

Good job Cincinnati.

a reply to: jhn7537

Now, is faith in humanity restored? No way... We still have a LONG ROAD ahead of us before we can call it restored...

Obviously taking some liberties there with my comment. But its good to see small acts like this especially when its involving big corporations or the massive money making league like the NFL.

Cheers

This should be the American corporate model instead of "adios" when personal misfortune falls on an employee.

a reply to: boncho

Cool story and props to them.

Now please tell me they have a gurning wobble-headed brown dude with a turban on for their emblem.

a reply to: olaru12

This should be the American corporate model instead of "adios" when personal misfortune falls on an employee.

Indeed, and it makes you wonder how many companies could give employees a desk job, maybe even in another division when they are doing cutbacks or something else comes up, but instead just slash peoples lives with no regard for them and their situation.

As an employer I always try to treat my staff fairly, and if things aren't good business wise we do what we can to keep people working as much as possible. As long as they do whats expected of them of course. The lazy ones get the same out of our company as they put into it.

We've even gone as far as doing special tax write offs the company wouldn't normally do, but the employee needs ABC so we put that into the books and deduct it from their earnings. Its completely legitimate, but it's engineered for the purpose of saving the employee money, lowering their tax bracket and increasing our write off allowances. Beneficial for everyone just a little extra work and rearranging resources etc. Most companies I presume wouldn't go to the trouble. Or would simply use write offs which benefit top executives first.

Well I'm going to be that guy and ask what did he do with all his football money?

a reply to: boncho

Sometimes a humaitarian act is worth enough, that there is
no reason to look beyond it.

SnF

a reply to: boncho
Perhaps if Mega Big Money Industries like the NFL paid Taxes Healthcare would be covered for all Americans, Free.

originally posted by: thesaneone
Well I'm going to be that guy and ask what did he do with all his football money?

There are people in the NFL who only make less than a million a year. He only played 2 years signed in 2012, and now he's earning around 300k with them on the practice squad.

Still said doctors are estimating her medical costs could reach $1 million.

His daughter has Stage 4 paediatric cancer, it can be crazy expensive. Far outweighing anything he's earned or what he's going to earn. But hopefully (and it seems like) he'll be getting some kind of medical benefits on their plan, and he can always finance if he has to.

Don't forget taxes on his income...

At the risk of sounding like an asshole, this dude's kid would be completely covered for her cancer under a UK style healthcare system.

From our perspective, it's astonishing that there'd be any question at all over a 4-year old girl receiving treatment.

It's not a perfect system by any stretch - but it's sort of mind blowing that such a thing would require an act of charity.

The bank my mom worked for, kept her employed, while she battled cancer for 25 years. Paid for ALL her medical bills and paid her months worth of sick days.

It's a honorable gesture on the Bengal's part, but consider this: Devon Still earned a salary of nearly 700,000 in 2012, and a signing bonus of 300,000 in 2014, supposedly he signed a 3.75 four year contract in 2012, with a 1.2 mill signing bonus.

That's more than the president of the United States earns, yet even he is needing help defraying the costs of cancer treatment on our health care system. Makes you really wonder what some working stiff on minimum wage is going to do when confronted by such medical costs working for an employer that does not provide any health care benefits. Guess those people should crawl into a hole and die. And people think we don't need health care reform in this country...

originally posted by: ImDaMan
The bank my mom worked for, kept her employed, while she battled cancer for 25 years. Paid for ALL her medical bills and paid her months worth of sick days.

Wow! Big thumbs up to them. It's too bad little operations like that are drying up in the modern world. t's hard to find a non-corpratized lemonade stand these days.

a reply to: KingIcarus
At the risk of sounding like an asshole, this dude's kid would be completely covered for her cancer under a UK style healthcare system.

Sad indeed. The US has the highest cost per capita for healthcare worldwide. Most countries are half the cost, even when they are fully paid for (universal). It amazes me how a developed country doesn't see medicine as a natural born right. Even if you find a tiny village untouched by civilization they have a shaman, witch doctor, herbalist, etc. which the community will pay for for them to treat villagers.

Healthcare and greed should not be in the same planet never mind the same sentence.

a reply to: Blackmarketeer

The only part that he can count on is the guaranteed money. 1.2 mil. And out of that Uncle Sam gets a HUGE cut. Then there managers and handlers and agents that all get a slice. Of that money he'll see about 400K. What's REALLY sad is that someone that pays more in taxes than I'd wager 98% of us here make can't afford the outrageous cost of healthcare in the States. Good on the Bengals.

What a great story. Wasnt a football fan, might have to root for em now