GIANTS FINALLY BOOT THE BUM
COME TO SENSES, CUT DISGRACED DOMESTIC ABUSER:
John Mara finally took his foot out of his mouth and gave Josh Brown the boot.
The Giants cut their Pro Bowl kicker Tuesday, more than two months after Brown’s domestic violence allegations became public, the latest chapter in a saga that has damaged Big Blue’s reputation as one of professional sports’ model franchises.
Brown’s release, however, probably won’t assuage the public fury directed at Mara, the Giants president and chief executive officer who allowed his front office to sign Brown to a two-year, $4 million contract in April even after the kicker had told team officials that he had been arrested for allegedly abusing his ex-wife, Molly Brown.
“We believed we did the right thing at every juncture in our relationship with Josh,” Mara said. “Our beliefs, our judgments and our decisions were misguided. We accept that responsibility.”
Mara has claimed that he was not aware of the extent of the abuse until last week, when the King County Sheriff’s Office in Washington released horrifying police reports and other documents that allege Brown had verbally, emotionally and physically abused his ex-wife for years. Brown acknowledged in journal entries released last week that he had abused his former spouse.
Brown, who was arrested on domestic violence charges in May 2015, was suspended for just one game just before the domestic violence allegations became public in August. He apologized to the Giants in a statement shortly before his release – but he did not express remorse to his wife or their children.
“I am sorry that my past has called into question the character or integrity of The New York Giants, Mr. Mara or any of those who have supported me along the way,” Brown said.
The NFL announced it had reopened its investigation into Brown after the documents were released last week, and the Giants may have released the kicker because they feared he would be suspended for additional games – perhaps even the rest of the season.
The furor comes two years after commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged that the NFL had mishandled how it investigated and punished players accused of sexual assault and domestic violence, most notably Ravens star Ray Rice, who was originally suspended for just two games for punching his fiancée and dragging her limp body out of an Atlantic City casino elevator.
Goodell, facing one of the biggest crises of his 10-year tenure as commissioner, vowed at a September 2014 news conference that the league would do better in the future. The NFL hired former prosecutors and other domestic violence experts to help it beef up its Personal Conduct Policy, which now calls for a six-game “baseline” suspension for players accused of violence against women. The league also poured manpower and millions of dollars into programs to combat domestic violence and sexual assault.
Many victim advocates said the NFL’s response was more about public relations than protecting women – and they say Mara’s handling of the Josh Brown case proves they were right.
“The NFL can spend millions of dollars investigating deflated footballs, but it doesn’t take steps to investigate and punish violence against women,” said Kathy Redmond Brown of the National Coalition Against Violent Athletes, referring to the Deflategate scandal that led to a fourgame suspension for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Shaunna Thomas of the anti-sexism group UltraViolet called for Goodell’s resignation Tuesday.
“Roger Goodell has proved time and time again that as long as he continues to serve as commissioner, domestic violence will never be taken seriously,” said Thomas, whose organization flew banners that said “#Goodell Must Go” over MetLife Stadium and other NFL venues in 2014.
Brown was arrested in May 2015 following an incident with his ex at their home in Woodinville, Wash. The King County Sheriff’s Office kept its investigation open for more than a year, until Sept. 14. King County prosecutors said they declined to file criminal charges against Brown – even though sheriff’s investigators said they believed there were sufficient grounds to charge the kicker – because Molly Brown was reluctant to testify against her ex-husband.
The NFL explained Brown’s tepid onegame suspension in a statement released in August that claimed the punishment was justified because law-enforcement officials and Molly Brown refused to cooperate with its investigators. That roiled advocates for domestic violence victims, who say women assaulted by spouses are often reluctant to cooperate with investigators because of the fear it will jeopardize their abusers’ careers or disrupt their families.
It sometimes seemed, however, that media outlets were more interested in pursuing the case than the NFL itself. The Daily News, for example, reported on an incident report in which Molly Brown told investigators that Brown had been physical violent with her more than 20 times. In one alleged incident, Molly Brown claims the kicker kicked the bathroom door during an argument so hard that he broke the door off its hinges and crack the door jamb.
Mara, too, has said that he knew that an intoxicated Brown allegedly pounded on the door of his ex-wife’s Honolulu hotel room during Pro Bowl week in January of this year. The NFL made arrangements for Molly Brown to change hotels that night in order to ensure her safety.
“He’s admitted to us that he abused his wife in the past,” Mara said Thursday on WFAN. “I think what’s a little unclear is the extent of that. What I read about it is obviously disturbing.”
But it was obviously not disturbing enough to get rid of Brown until long after he became a liability.
We believed we did the right thing at every juncture in our relationship with Josh. Our beliefs, our judgments and our decisions were misguided. We accept that responsibility. JOHN MARA