Bengals fans, and others across the nation and world, have responded in tremendous numbers in ordering the jersey of defensive tackle Devon Still through the team's Pro Shop. Orders are approaching 10,000 for the jerseys, a tribute to fans whose purchases evidence their support for Devon and his daughter, four-year-old Leah, who suffers from pediatric cancer. Orders have come in from all 50 states as well as from Canada, the UK and Australia.
As a result of this support, more than $1 million will go to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
Sale of the $100 jerseys will benefit pediatric cancer research at Cincinnati's Children's, and today the Bengals finalized plans for the program which include:
* Sale of the jerseys will continue through Monday October 20. Additionally, the Bengals have put a link on Bengals.com for fans to contribute directly to Cincinnati Children's.
* On November 6, at the Bengals' Thursday Night Football game vs. Cleveland at Paul Brown Stadium, the Bengals will present a check to Cincinnati Children's that will exceed $1 million.
* The Bengals are absorbing the cost of the first 10,000 jerseys -- approximately $500,000 -- allowing the full sale price of the jerseys to go to Cincinnati Children's.
On sales in excess of 10,000, Cincinnati Children's will continue to benefit from all sales minus the cost of the jerseys.
"We applaud Devon for his openness in sharing his daughter's challenging story nationwide through media and social media," said Bengals executive vice-president Katie Blackburn.
"We also applaud the response of our fans and many others to the jersey sales," Blackburn continued. "The welfare of Devon and Leah are foremost in our minds, but we are proud and excited to be able to be a part of something that can help advance the cause of fighting childhood cancer."
Michael Fisher, President of Cincinnati Children's, said:
"I want to thank Devon and his family for sharing their story. Not only has it generated international attention to the issue of pediatric cancer, but it has served as an inspiration to many other families that are traveling a similar path. I also want to thank Mike Brown, Katie Blackburn, and the entire Cincinnati Bengals organization for their incredibly generous and thoughtful approach to this important effort. Finally, I want to thank the many individual donors. We promise to be good stewards of every dollar in our ongoing effort to find new and better ways to treat pediatric cancers."
