Mike Brown: 'When it comes to charity, you shouldn't brag about it'

At the end of the first quarter, during Thursday's game against the Cleveland Browns, the team presented a donation of $1.349 million to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Between quarters @CincyChildrens was presented with a $1.3M check from the sales of Still jerseys #StillStrong pic.twitter.com/RbphfqlTZ3

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) November 7, 2014

The money was donated by fans who bought Devon Still jerseys and facilitated by the team.

Bengals owner Mike Brown deflected any involvement or praise for the effort.

"When it comes to charity, you shouldn't brag about it,'' Brown said to Paul Daugherty with the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Devon Still "is the guy that drove this. He made it possible,'' Brown said. "He went about it in a very remarkable way. Understated, straight forward.''

Daugherty writes:

Brown took a personal interest in the welfare of the late Greg Cook, a great college quarterback, who became an entirely troubled soul after his NFL career was cut short by a shoulder injury. Either the Bengals or Mike Brown paid for everything connected with Chris Henry's funeral.

And so on. Either Mike Brown is a self-interested tightwad or a silent partner in the charity game. The fact that he doesn't advertise the team's generosity – or respond to critics who suspect that it's lacking – is an admirable, almost lost, trait.