CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals continued to throw their support behind Devon Still in response to the defensive tackle’s latest challenge, a charge from the mother of his 4-year-old daughter Leah that Still hasn’t paid child support since August.

The allegations surfaced in a New York Daily News article Wednesday, casting a shadow on what has been the league’s feel-good story of the year as Still has been in the national spotlight helping Leah battle a rare form of pediatric cancer.

Still did not address the allegations during the open locker room period. Instead, he sat down with pen and paper and crafted a 97-word statement that the Bengals distributed to the media.

It read: “My daughter’s battle with cancer has been inspirational to many all over the world. When she gets older, I want her to be able to look back and read about her positive impact on the world, not about the private issues her parents were going through. I am not going to retaliate against the mother of my daughter and the untruthful reports in the New York Daily News, by criticizing her character. I am going to continue to allow the court system to handle this matter, as it has been doing these past couple of months.”

Head coach Marvin Lewis addressed the situation at his weekly press conference.

“He’s got support from everybody here,” Lewis said. “I think Devon has grown up so much through this unfortunate illness that his daughter’s dealing with. It’s really grown him as a man and as a person, and I told him that just today how he’s handled everything and I’m so impressed. He’s really a beacon for a lot of people. He will be for a lot of young guys as they face different trials and tribulations as an NFL player because there are all the outside pressures that no one understands that guys go through.”

Lewis then was asked if he thinks players are easy targets for allegations that may not be true.

“Devon’s dealing with something … and we’re not privy to all the facts of it, but Devon is very confident he’s taken care of business the right way,” Lewis said. “Obviously if there’s things that need to be done through the legality, through the courts, it will come out that way. We’re going to continue to support him and we’re very confident in the things that he’s done.”