Brown not going to London, investigation re-opened
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. >> Josh Brown’s future with the New York Giants and possibly the NFL is in jeopardy after police released journal entries and emails in which the placekicker admitted that he repeatedly verbally and physically abused his former wife.
The league reacted Thursday by re-opening its investigation into a 2015 domestic abuse com- plaint made by Brown’s for- mer wife, though prosecutors said they were closing the criminal case without filing charges because they could not secure key testimony from the woman and other key witnesses. Meanwhile, the Giants announced before traveling to London that Brown would not make the trip before a game Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Giants said they want to review the new information released by King County law enforcement officials in Washington and reach a decision on the kicker’s future with the club, possibly next week.
Giants co-owner John Mara said he was upset the new information about Brown’s history of domestic abuse, adding that he felt it was in the best interest of the team to leave him home.
“I want to get all the information we can get,” Mara said in a radio interview with WFAN. “I am certainly disturbed by what we read. He has admitted to us that he abused his wife in the past. I think what is a little unclear is the extent of that, but what we have read about is obviously disturbing.”
Brown’s former wife, Molly, alleged more than 20 instances of domestic violence. In a report released by the King County Sheriff’s Office that summarized the allegations, Detective Robin Ostrom said the allegations included that he had slammed her into a large bedroom mirror, breaking it; that he had shoved a chair into her leg, bruising it; and that he damaged a bathroom door when he lost his temper with her older son.
The report also detailed how the wife anguished over whether to move forward with a prosecution, given the effect it could have on her family.
Mara said that the 37-year-old football player has been undergoing counseling for years, and that the journals were part of his therapy. Mara said the team did not have access to the latest information when they decided to keep Brown on the roster after the league announced his suspension in late August.
Coach Ben McAdoo said that the Giants are working out kickers, but he would not identify them, adding they could be flown to England for the game.
Brown practiced on Thursday but was not in the locker room afterward.
Brown was suspended for the opening game of the season by the league for violating its personal conduct policy. The ruling came after the league investigated his arrest.
During that investigation, the league said that its investigators made repeated verbal and written attempts to obtain any and all evidence and relevant information from the sheriff’s office, but were denied.
The sheriff’s office released the journals and emails late Wednesday to several news organizations.
The league said law enforcement’s response limited its investigation.
“We concluded our own investigation, more than a year after the initial incident, based on the facts and evidence available to us at the time and after making exhaustive attempts to obtain information in a timely fashion,” the league said. “It is unfortunate that we did not have the benefit or knowledge of these materials at the time.”