Watch Devon Still’s touching ESPYs speech on behalf of daughter Leah

Since his daughter was diagnosed with cancer, Devon Still has been using his role as an NFL player to help raise awareness to fight the disease.

He had an amazing platform Wednesday night, accepting the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance on behalf of himself and daughter Leah during the televised broadcast of the ESPYs.

And he made the most of it. Tears were flowing throughout Microsoft Theater as Still talked about his daughter’s courageous battle with Stage IV neuroblastoma and his own struggles in dealing with the crisis.

“We had two options,” Still said. “We could have lost faith and just let this battle with cancer get the best of us, or I could give my daughter’s battle with cancer a purpose, and use my platform to try to raise as much awareness as possible.

“Though not knowing how hard it was gonna be, we decided not to give up.”

Unfortunately, Leah’s doctors determined she wasn’t strong enough to travel to the ceremony in Los Angeles. But Still said she was watching from Ohio, and he had a message for her.

“I just want to thank you,” he said. “From the moment you [were] born, you molded me into the man I am today. I always used to dream about how I was going to be able to show you so much about life, but in the five years I’ve been with you, you’ve taught me more about life than I could ever do. And I love you, and I’m just proud of the way you’ve been handling yourself the past year.”

Still ended his speech by playing a video message recorded by Leah. “Sorry I couldn’t be there, everybody,” the 5-year-old said, “but thank you for supporting me while I deal with cancer.”