As the Sunday morning talking heads begin the process of talking about the potential reaction by teammates to the knowledge that Giants kicker Josh Brown engaged in abuse of his ex-wife more widespread than grabbing her wrist in May 2015, it’s important to remember one key fact: Brown’s ex-wife contends they already knew.
“Several of Josh’s teammates were aware of the abuse in their relationship,” wrote King County Detective Robin Ostrum, “but it is clear none of them did anything to call it to the attention of the team management or take action to help Molly out. Molly feared that people from the NFL/Giants would pressure her into making all of this go away, so that Josh and the team would not face any negative press. Molly was very upfront that in her experience, the NFL publically [sic] says that they have a no tolerance policy on Domestic Violence, but the reality is that they do more crisis management and look to cover things up.”
Ultimately, the criminal charges did not materialize because Molly Brown decided not to force the issue, possibly due to concerns that she expressed regarding the financial implications arising from the Giants severing ties with Josh. The police report makes it clear that she was torn over worries that, on one hand, the team would abruptly cut him and that, on the other hand, the team would try to brush it all under the rug and to create the impression that she was making things up.
Now that the police report has emerged, the Giants and the NFL have been forced by fan and media reaction to do what they should have done in the first place, based on the apparent extent of the abuse. Regardless, none of this should be news to some of Brown’s teammates, based on the things Molly Brown told the authorities in Seattle.
