What to Know
- The Giants said in a statement Tuesday that the team had released kicker Josh Brown
- Brown said in a statement that he has "taken measures to get help" but insisted he never struck his wife
- The kicker was previously suspended for one game by the NFL, but does not face criminal charges in the case
The New York Giants have released kicker Josh Brown after police released journal entries and emails in which he admitted physically and verbally abusing his ex-wife.
The team announced that it had released Brown in a tweet Tuesday afternoon. In a statement later Tuesday, team owner and president John Mara said that the team hopes that Brown "will continue to dedicate himself to rehabilitation, and to becoming a better person and father."
"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."
Brown's release comes hours after he said in a statement provided to ESPN's Adam Schefter that he has "taken measures to get help" but insisted he never struck his wife.
He also said he was sorry his past "has called into question the character or integrity" of Mara, and that said he is cooperating with the Giants and NFL.
"I have taken measures to get help so that I may be the voice of change, not a statistic," he said. "It is important to share that I never struck my wife, and never would. Abuse takes many forms, and is not a gray area."
Local
Brown's former wife alleged that he shoved her into a mirror, breaking it, and that he shoved a chair into her leg, bruising it, according to a report released last week by the King County Sheriff's Office in the state of Washington.
Brown said he has spent the past several years working to identify and change his behaviors.
Brown was previously suspended for the opening game of the season for violating the league's personal conduct policy after the NFL investigated his arrest in May 2015 for spousal abuse against his now ex-wife, Molly. Brown was not charged by local authorities in the case in Washington state.
After the documents were released, the NFL said it would reopen its investigation into Brown. The league said its investigators had repeatedly asked for any and all evidence pertinent to the case, but the sheriff's office did not hand over the journal entries prior to the NFL closing its investigation.
