NFL fumbles Brown investigation
Abuse policies back in spotlight after Goodell said ‘mistakes can never be repeated’
After mishandling Ray Rice’s domestic violence incident two years ago, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said “I got it wrong” and vowed “the same mistakes can never be repeated.”
It doesn’t appear the league learned its lesson.
The NFL placed kicker Josh Brown on paid leave Friday, a day after reopening its investigation into the 2015 domestic abuse complaint against the 14-year veteran. Brown, who was originally drafted into the league by the Seattle Seahawks, said in journal entries and emails released by police Thursday he repeatedly verbally and physically abused his former wife Molly Brown.
The revelations left fans outraged because Brown received only a onegame suspension following the league’s 10-month investigation into the case.
So the big question is this: How much did the New York Giants know and what did the NFL know about Brown’s history of abusing his ex-wife?
“You very rarely have a Ray Rice video,” Giants co-owner John Mara said in August.
Mara told WFAN radio Thursday he was upset about the latest information.
“I am certainly disturbed by what we read,” Mara said. “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.”
The league said its “investigators made repeated attempts — both orally and in writing — to obtain any and all evidence and relevant information in this case from the King County (Wash.) Sheriff ’s Office.”
They were denied because it was an ongoing investigation.
However, Sheriff John Urquhart told KIRO Radio in Seattle the NFL failed to go through proper channels and the investigator didn’t identify himself as working for the league.
“At no time has the NFL ever filed a written public disclosure request for any of these files. Period. It’s never happened,” Urquhart told the station.
Goodell explained the league’s position Friday in a BBC interview.
“You have to make decisions on whatever information you have,” Goodell said in a transcript provided by the BBC. “We take this issue incredibly seriously . ... When it happens, we’re not going to tolerate it. So we have some new information here, we’ll evaluate that in the context of our policy and we’ll take it from there.”
Molly did not respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment. A law firm representing the kicker declined to comment.
Here’s some of the information and allegations police summarized based on interviews they conducted with Molly:
Molly stated Josh Brown had been physically violent with her on more than 20 different instances over the past several years.
Molly said she never received medical attention for any of the abuse.
Molly feared people from the NFL and the Giants would look to pressure her into making this go away, so Josh and the team would not face any negative press.
Molly was upfront that in her experience, the NFL publicly says it has a no-tolerance policy on domestic violence, but the reality is that it does more crisis management and looks to cover things up.