RB Jennings calls Brown ‘great man’
SHORTLY AFTER Josh Brown was arrested on domestic violence allegations last year, his exwife, Molly Brown, told police she was reluctant to pursue criminal charges because she feared the Giants would vilify her in the media and rally around the kicker she says abused her at least 20 times. Rashad Jennings may have proved her right Monday, when he praised Brown as “a good friend and a great man” during an appearance on the NFL Network.
“A lot of people obviously want to attack, but we love and pray for him, just like anybody else, anybody in the nation that’s dealing with stuff like that,” the Giants running back said.
Jennings told the NFL Network that he wants to learn more about the allegations leveled against Brown so he could form an “effective opinion.” But he said a second later that he did not need to form an opinion because Brown acknowledged that he had physically and emotional abused his ex in journal entries that were among the documents released by the King County, Wash., Sheriff’s Office last week.
“Honestly you don’t even need an opinion,” Jennings said. “Why? Because this is something the man himself doesn’t even support, domestic violence against anyone. It’s just unfortunate that you have to deal with it. We support him, we’re here for him.”
Victim advocate Kathy Redmond Brown said men who abuse wives or girlfriends often present themselves to friends and co-workers as upstanding guys. They can be charming and fun — and they rarely offer hints that they assault the women in their lives.
“A guy like Josh Brown, in the locker room or with fans, won’t display that kind of behavior,” said Redmond Brown, who founded the National Coalition Against Violent Athletes after she filed a Title IX lawsuit against the University of Nebraska in 1995 that claimed Huskers defensive tackle Christian Peter — who later played for the Giants — had sexually assaulted her. “He knows better than to demonstrate behavior like that in public.”
Jennings told the NFL Network that nobody in the Giants organization supports domestic violence. But Molly Brown told a King County Sheriff detective that some of her ex-husband’s teammates were aware of the domestic violence in their relationship — and nobody raised concerns with team management or law enforcement.
Giants owner John Mara also has acknowledged that he knew of Brown’s 2015 domestic violence arrest and of the night Brown allegedly pounded on the door of his exwife’s Honolulu hotel room while intoxicated during Pro Bowl week in January of this year. Molly Brown was forced to change hotels that night in order to ensure her safety. The Giants, however, still re-signed Brown to a two-year, $4 million contract this past spring.
Woodinville, Wash. Prosecutors said they declined to file charges against him because his ex-wife was reluctant to testify against him, making it difficult to prove their case in court. — With Michael O’Keeffe
INJURY REPORT
Odell Beckham Jr. was undergoing treatment Monday on his hip pointer injury and remains “pretty sore,” according to McAdoo, who hopes the bye week will help speed up the return of the rest of his injured players.
He said there’s a chance safeties Nat Berhe (concussion) and Darian Thompson (foot), who’ve both missed multiple games, could resume practicing next week. Tackle Marshall Newhouse has also missed time with a calf injury.