Montgomery

Stebbins speaker

Longtime Cincinnati Bengals head athletic trainer Paul Sparling will speak at Stebbins High School’s graduation at 7 p.m. this evening at Wright State University’s Nutter Center.

Sparling, a 1977 Stebbins graduate, is transitioning toward retirement and plans to continue with the Bengals in a consulting role. Earlier this month, he was inducted into the Ohio Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

After graduating Stebbins, he enrolled at Wilmington College as an athletic training major after earning nine varsity letters in high school as a trainer.

While at Wilmington — home of the Bengals’ training camp — Sparling started his affiliation with the NFL team. In 1992, he became the Bengals’ head trainer and has worked more than 800 games, according to the team.