Giants kicker Josh Brown was placed on the Commissioner’s-Exempt list last week after the release of documents by the King County (WA) Sheriff’s Office.
Included among those documents were writings from Brown that had him admitting that he “physically, verbally and emotionally abused my wife” and viewed her as his slave. Many others weighed in on the matter over the last week, but Brown had remained silent until issuing a statement to Adam Schefter of ESPN on Tuesday.
“I am sorry that my past has called into question the character or integrity of The New York Giants, [Giants owner John] 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. It is important to share that I never struck my wife, and never would. Abuse takes many forms, and is not a gray area. Through the past several years I have worked to identify and rectify my own behaviors. The road to rehabilitation is a journey and a constant modification of a way of life. My journey will continue forever as a person determined to leave a positive legacy and I embrace the opportunities to show and speak about what has helped me to be that man. In the interim, I am cooperating with the Giants and the NFL. Thank you to everyone that has supported me, I will not let you down.”
Schefter previously reported that Brown will not appeal the league’s decision to put him on the list, which bars him from playing while he continues to receive his full salary. Brown was suspended for one game to open the year and would have the right to appeal any further discipline the league tries to enact under the auspices of new information coming to light, although Mara’s admission that Brown admitted to the team that he abused his wife may make that difficult for the league.