NFL explains, upholds one-game suspension of Giants K Josh Brown

Amid questions as to why it suspended New York Giants kicker Josh Brown for only one game as details emerged surrounding the nature of his personal conduct policy violation, the NFL released a lengthy statement Friday explaining its investigation and upholding the suspension.

Brown was suspended Wednesday and revealed the reason for the punishment Thursday – at least his version of it. He confirmed to reporters that the penalty stemmed from a May 2015 arrest on a domestic violence charge. He said he simply grabbed his wife, now his ex-wife, by the wrist and that the charge was dismissed.

But later Thursday, the New York Daily News reported that on the day of his 2015 arrest, Brown’s ex-wife told police that he had been violent with her more than 20 times and that she had previously had a protection order against him. According to the Daily News, the violence began when she was pregnant with their daughter in 2009.

The NFL came under tremendous scrutiny for its handling of domestic violence cases when it initially suspended former Ravens running back Ray Rice only two games for punching his fiancée in 2014. That led to commissioner Roger Goodell beefing up the league’s domestic violence policy to six-game suspensions for first offenders and lifetime bans after that.

So it’s no surprise, then, that the league felt the need to explain the one-game suspension Friday when it upheld it on appeal. The NFL said that law enforcement officials wouldn’t turn information on the case over to the league and that Brown’s ex-wife declined to speak with its investigators.

The NFL’s full statement is below: