Devon Still responded on Wednesday to allegations that he had not paid child support saying they were untrue and that the courts would deal with it.
“My daughter’s battle with cancer has been inspirational to many all over the world,” Still said in a statement released by the Bengals. “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 article, 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.”
Still has received a lot of attention over the past handful of months as his daughter Leah deals with Stage 4 pediatric cancer.
Channing Smythe alleges in a letter from attorney Gloria Allred that Still has not paid child support for four months which has left her on the verge of being homeless. However in an interview with the Daily News she said “I don’t consider him a deadbeat dad. I know he loves and cares for his daughter and he is there for her. I just need him to help me financially.”
Allred’s letter asked the NFL to see whether or not Still has violated its personal conduct policy by not paying Smythe.
“We’re not privy to all the facts of it,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said at his weekly press conference, “but Devon is very confident that he’s taking care of business the right way and eventually, at some point, if there’s things that need to be done through the legality through the courts, that all would come out that way.
“We’re going to continue to support him. We’re very confident in the things he’s done.”
Injured in the preseason, Still did not initially make the Bengals 53-man roster as he was cut on Aug. 31. A day later he was signed to their practice squad so he could pay for Leah’s medical expenses with the NFL’s heath insurance. Shortly after that he was promoted to the active roster. He is set to make $570,000 this season.
To help raise awareness about the illness, the Bengals raised nearly $1.3 million earlier this year as part of a donation tied to sales of Still’s No. 75 jersey.
