NFL has not ruled out putting Josh Brown on commissioner's exempt list
The NFL said on Thursday it plans to review the new information disclosed on Wednesday about the Josh Brown domestic violence case and decide any “next steps” it might take.
The league is considering the possibility of placing Brown on the commissioner’s exempt list (i.e. paid leave) while it considers discipline, a person with knowledge of the situation told Tom Pelissero of USA TODAY Sports, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
That was the mechanism the NFL used – with players’ consent at the time, prior to the implementation of the league’s updated personal conduct policy – to take Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and then-Carolina Panthers end Greg Hardy off the field amidst their legal troubles during the 2014 season.
The current conduct policy says paid leave is an option for anyone charged with a crime of violence or if an investigation “leads the Commissioner to believe that you have violated this policy” by committing such conduct.
On Thursday, the league released the following statement from Brian McCarthy, VP of Communications:
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“NFL 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 Sheriff’s Office. Each of those requests was denied and the Sheriff’s Office declined to provide any of the requested information, which ultimately limited our ability to fully investigate this matter. 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. It is unfortunate that we did not have the benefit or knowledge of these materials at the time.
“In light of the release of these documents yesterday, we will thoroughly review the additional information and determine next steps in the context of the NFL Personal Conduct Policy. We will not be making any comments on potential discipline until that time. “
Documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports show the NFL filed a public record request with King County in May 2015.
Brown said he had "been physically, emotionally and verbally" abusive, according to documents related to Brown’s domestic violence case obtained by USA TODAY Sports and other media outlets on Wednesday.
The confessions came from Brown’s journals and emails that were given to Kings County (Wash.) Sheriff's Office investigators by his then-wife, Molly Brown, after Brown was arrested in May 2015.
The misdemeanor domestic violence charge was dropped within days of his arrest in Woodinville, Wash., after prosecutors reviewed the case. The NFL, which said it lacked the cooperation of Molly Brown, suspended Josh Brown for the first game of the season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Brown told reporters in August that the incident was a single "moment in time," but the documents show that may not be the case.
"I have been a horrible husband and stepfather," Brown wrote in one of his journal entries.
"I have abused my wife," read another entry with the words underlined and circled.
The Giants are scheduled to fly to London Thursday night for a game Sunday against the Rams.
