Former New York Giants kicker Josh Brown has once again had the NFL’s personal conduct penalty weigh down on him. A year after serving a one-game suspension for a violation of the league’s personal conduct penalty, the NFL re-opened the investigation in light of new evidence and has once again dropped a hammer on the free agent kicker with a new six-game suspension.
Adam Schefter of ESPN was the first to report the news via Twitter.
NFL is suspending former Giants kicker Josh Brown six more games for domestic violence, sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 8, 2017
Although the timing of this announcement comes on the same day as the NFL and Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott await a ruling from a U.S. District Court over the running back’s suspension, a league contact confirmed to Schefter the timing is purely coincidental and not at all tied to the ongoing saga regarding Elliott.
The severity of the punishment should not go unnoticed, however. Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk notes the six-game suspension issued to Brown now contradicts the league’s policy regarding violations of the personal conduct and domestic violence.
Once again the NFL disregards its own rule, which says six games is supposed to be the FIRST suspension https://t.co/YQpVFK1LHe
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) September 8, 2017
Brown was suspended a year ago, which makes this the second suspension for a violation of the personal conduct policy by Brown. But perhaps there is a gray area here as the suspension is still tied to the same incident in question. Had this been a new allegation of abuse brought to the spotlight, then the NFL may have treated the new suspension with a harsher reaction.
Brown was arrested in May 2015 on suspicion of domestic assault in the fourth degree. He was never charged, but documents later revealed Brown admitted to abusing his wife. For that, the league issued a one-game suspension to Brown, which he served as a member of the New York Giants. Brown has since been removed from the Giants roster and remains a free agent as the new season gets underway. He will serve the suspension right away despite sitting in free agency. He will simply not be allowed to play for six games even if picked up by a team during the first six weeks (or games) of the season.
[ESPN]
