(Photo: Getty Images)

This was originally published in The Athletic....

OK, I’ll do it.

I’ll accept the often difficult and usually unenviable task of sticking up for Mike Brown, who’s admittedly a hard man to stick up for.

But I’ll do it anyway.

Because Mike Brown did nothing wrong.

The Bengals' owner is getting pounded because of a Pro Football Talk report indicating that when free agent safety Eric Reid visited with the Bengals earlier this week, he was asked by Brown if he planned on kneeling during the national anthem this coming season.

To read the entire piece, go to The Athletic.