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Giants coach Ben McAdoo: 'We're not going to turn our back' on Josh Brown

LONDON – New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo continued to voice support for Josh Brown in the face of newly released police documents in which the kicker admitted to abusive behavior toward his ex-wife.

Brown was left off the team’s flight to London following the release of the documents Wednesday, but McAdoo stuck by his player in a Friday news conference as the team preps to play the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at Twickenham Stadium.

“It was a tough conversation with Josh,” McAdoo said. “We’re not going to turn our back on Josh. He’s our teammate.”

Giants head coach Ben McAdoo reaffirmed his support for Josh Brown Friday in London. (Getty)
Giants head coach Ben McAdoo reaffirmed his support for Josh Brown Friday in London. (Getty)

McAdoo said he went to each position group personally to inform them of the decision to leave Brown at home for the trip.

[Eric Adelson: NFL failing at more than just discipline in its domestic violence policy]

The documents were part of an investigation by Washington state officials into an incident last year in which Brown was arrested after his then-wife, Molly, called 911.

Molly Brown initially provided the emails and journal entries to King County police as proof of her husband’s behavior. Josh Brown was initially charged with fourth-degree domestic violence, but the charges were later dropped.

Molly Brown told police in 2015 that her then-husband had been abusive toward her on more than 20 occasions, and Josh Brown admitted in a journal entry: “I have abused my wife.”

“I have been a liar for most of my life,” Josh Brown wrote in one journal entry. “I made selfish decisions to use and abuse women starting at the age of 7 to fill this void. I objectified women and never really worried about the pain and hurt I caused them. My ability to connect emotionally to other people was zero. My empathy levels were zero.

“Because I never handled these underlying issues I became an abuser and hurt Molly physically, emotionally and verbally. I viewed myself as God basically and she was my slave.”

The NFL initially suspended the kicker just one game for the 2015 incident because of “insufficient information to corroborate prior allegations” and the Giants signed him to a $4 million extension this offseason. At the time, McAdoo said that he supported Brown “as a man, a father and a player.”

[Related: Mother of Giants player criticizes owner John Mara for comments on Josh Brown]

In Friday’s tense news conference, McAdoo said no less than 10 times that the team was still gathering information about the allegations, but back in August, after Brown’s suspension was handed down, Giants owner John Mara said the team was “aware of the allegations” and “comfortable with our decision to re-sign him.

In a statement released Thursday night, the Giants said: “Josh has acknowledged that he has issues in his life and has been working on these issues through therapy and counseling for a long period of time. We remain supportive of Josh and his efforts.”

Brown’s future remains unclear. The Giants said they will “revisit” the issue following the team’s trip to London, and the NFL announced Thursday that they will re-open its investigation. In the meantime, the team has signed former Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould.

“We’re not worried about the distractions,” McAdoo said Friday. “We’re not worried about the outside noise. We need to focus on each other and winning the football game.”

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