AP Source: NFL Suspends Former Giants Kicker Josh Brown 6 Games
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- A person familiar with the ruling says the NFL has suspended former New York Giants kicker and current free agent Josh Brown for six games. The decision follows a league review of Brown's repeated abuse of his former wife while they were married.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Friday because the NFL had not released its ruling.
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ESPN first reported the suspension, the second handed to Brown for abusing his former wife, Molly.
The NFL "concluded there was a violation of our personal conduct policy and imposed 6 game suspension which he accepted without appeal," a league official told ESPN in a text message.
Brown served a one-game suspension at the start of last season. He was eventually released by the Giants in late October after authorities in Washington state released a report on their investigation into his arrest in 2015. Details in the report angered many because Brown received a suspension of only one game.
Brown's suspension starts this weekend and he is not appealing the new ban because the 38-year-old kicker hopes to play again in the league, the person told the AP. The league has been taking a second look at the accusations since the police report was made public, the person added.
Police did not make evidence available to the league in its first investigation of Brown, who played 14 seasons in the league with five teams.
The person familiar with the matter said the timing of the suspension had nothing to do with Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. The NFL's leading rusher last season is facing a six-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy. He is hoping a U.S. District Court judge in Texas will grant a temporary restraining order that would allow him to play this season. Elliott will play in the season opener against the Giants in Dallas.
Brown admitted in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" in February that that he physically abused his ex-wife, although, he insisted he never struck her.
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"The world now thinks that I beat my wife. I never hit her, never once.
"I mean I had put my hands on her. I kicked the chair. I held her down. The holding down was the worst moment in our marriage," he added.
When Brown was asked how people are supposed to reconcile that he admitted to physically abusing his wife but not hitting her, he answered: "They're not supposed to. What I did was wrong. Period."
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)