The NFL said in a statement Thursday that it has reopened its investigation into New York Giants kicker Josh Brown.
Brown was suspended for one game earlier this season after his arrest in May 2015 on charges of domestic violence in fourth grade.
On Wednesday, Reyes Count Sheriff’s Department released 165 pages of documents relating to detention, which, according to SportsNet New York, included a diary entry in which Brown admitted to having physically and emotionally abused his wife.
“I have physically, mentally, emotionally and verbally been a repulsive man,” SNY said Brown wrote in one of his journal entries. Below that, it said, citing the documents, he circled the sentence, “I have abused my wife.”
On Thursday, the NFL said that league investigators made several attempts to access the evidence around the time of Brown’s arrest, but that the Kings County Sheriff’s Department failed to comply.
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.
The Giants, meanwhile, said that they had been unaware of the additional evidence:
Giants were unaware of Josh Brown’s journal entries, emails and letters admitting DV, per a team spokesman. They had not read or heard them
In many ways, the trajectory here mimics that of Ray Rice. The league initially gave Rice a lax suspension and the Ravens stood by him.
When the video tape from the Atlantic City casino elevator surfaced, the league re-opened the investigation and eventually suspended him indefinitely. Although he has since been reinstated to the league, no team has signed him.
Brown, as of Thursday afternoon, remains on the Giants roster. It’s hard to imagine that will be the case for much longer.
