The New York Giants have released kicker Josh Brown, the team announced on Tuesday.
“We believed we did the right thing at every juncture in our relationship with Josh,” Giants co-owner John Mara said in a written statement released by the team. “Our beliefs, our judgments and our decisions were misguided. We accept that responsibility.”
The NFL had placed Brown on its commissioner’s exempt list last week after new revelations in his domestic violence case were released by authorities in King County, Wash. That put Brown on what amounts to paid leave. He faces further possible disciplinary action by the league. But the Giants’ decision on whether to retain him was a separate matter.
Brown previously served a one-game suspension this season for a domestic violence incident involving his former wife, Molly Brown.
The Giants left Brown home from their trip to London for their game Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
“We hope that Josh will continue to dedicate himself to rehabilitation, and to becoming a better person and father,” Mara said in Tuesday’s written statement. “We will continue to support him in his efforts to continue counseling, and we hope that Josh and his family can find peace and a positive resolution.”
Earlier Tuesday, Brown issued a statement in which he denied ever striking his wife, pointing out that “abuse takes many forms” and that the “road to rehabilitation is a journey.”
The Giants and Mara came under fire last week when additional documents detailing further alleged abuse came to light. Mara, in particular, was heavily criticized for saying that, while the team was aware of alleged incidents, “the extent” of the alleged abuse was not known, seemingly indicating that some abuse could be tolerated. By Friday, Brown was on the exempt list.
On Tuesday, Brown apologized to the Giants, who had signed him to a two-year, $4 million contract in April, and to Mara. The situation and the owner’s comments had created very bad optics, and Brown wrote:
“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. I have taken measures to get help so that I may be the voice of change, not a statistic.”
Brown was not charged for the 2015 incident, which was investigated by the NFL. Last week, the league said it obtained further details, including a signed document in which Brown admitted to physically, verbally and emotionally abusing his then-wife, Molly. Other documents showed that he allegedly violated a restraining order and that prosecutors were having problems getting Molly Brown to cooperate with the investigation.
Commissioner Roger Goodell was also caught up in this latest instance of an issue the league has grappled with since 2014. In London he attempted to explain how the league could discipline players for touchdown celebrations and suspend Tom Brady for four games for allegedly deflating footballs while Brown got only a one-game suspension.
“I understand the public’s misunderstanding of those things and how that can be difficult for them to understand how we get to those positions,” Goodell told the BBC. “But those are things that we have to do. I think it’s a lot deeper and a lot more complicated than it appears, but it gets a lot of focus.”