Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The NFL says the former wife of suspended New York Giants placekicker Josh Brown turned down multiple requests to speak to the league about her allegations of being the victim of repeated domestic violence.
In a statement issued Friday, the league said that it conducted a 10-month investigation into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Brown in May 2015 in Woodinville, Wash., on a fourth-degree domestic violence charge.
In the course of the investigation, the league said its investigators became aware that Brown's wife had filed a statement with the county court alleging previous altercations between the spouses.
"Despite multiple attempts to speak with her about this incident and her previous statements, she declined to speak with us," the league said. "We understand that there are many reasons that might have affected her decision not to speak with us, but we were limited in our ability to investigate these allegations."
The NFL added that local law enforcement officers also declined to provide information on the case and previous allegations.
Brown, who was suspended by the league for the opening game of the regular season, admitted Thursday that he grabbed his wife's wrist in the incident that led to his arrest. He called it a momentary thing.
The King County prosecutor's office investigated the case and did not file a charge, saying there was insufficient evidence.
After its investigation, the NFL said it had insufficient information to corroborate prior allegations.
"In addition, no criminal charges were brought forward regarding the incident in question or prior allegations," the league said.
"The NFL therefore made a decision based on the evidentiary findings around this one incident as provided to us by the District Attorney."
The league said it suspended Brown for a game because he had violated the personal conduct policy.
"We did so based on the evidence of this one incident as presented in the police report, Mr. Brown and his wife's statements to police that evening, and his statements in interviews with the NFL," the league said Friday.
The personal conduct policy allows for discipline to be imposed even when criminal charges are not presented. It also allows the league to consider both aggravating and mitigating factors regarding discipline for domestic violence.
"After reviewing the evidence in this one incident, we imposed a one-game suspension for violation of the personal conduct policy," the league said.
Brown's appeal of the decision was turned down and the league announced his suspension on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old will be allowed to practice with the Giants in training camp, but he will be suspended for the opening week, when the Giants are in Dallas.
___
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP\_NFL
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
