Report: Former Husker Kicker Josh Brown Admits Abusing Ex-Wife

At the start of the 2016 NFL season, the NFL suspended Josh Brown one game after reports of his arrest on suspicion of abusing his then-wife Molly in Washington state. At that time, the suspension was roundly criticized as being insufficient. Charges were not filed, and Brown’s ex-wife did not cooperate with the league’s investigation.

This week, more details of Brown’s case came to light...and it looks absolutely awful. SNY, a New York sports channel, obtained 165 pages of documents this week from the King County’s (Washington) Sheriff’s Office on the case. Journal entries and e-mails indicated that Brown admitted his issues to his family and friends in 2013 and 2014.

"I have been a liar for most of my life," he wrote. "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."

After redshirting in 1998, Brown (no relation to Kris and Drew Brown) kicked four seasons for the Huskers, earning all-Big XII honors in 2002. In 2001, Brown pled no contest to a charge of miscellaneous assault on an ex-girlfriend. Brown paid a $350 fine and was also suspended for the Huskers 2001 season opener, a 21-7 victory over TCU. Brown was also suspended for the Colorado game as a senior in 2002 after an arrest for driving while under the influence.

Brown was drafted in the 7th round of the 2003 NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks. His 14 year NFL career has led him to stints in Seattle, St. Louis, Cincinnati and the New York Giants. In the 2015 arrest report, Molly Brown alleged that Josh Brown came home drunk from a bachelor party.

While they were sitting in bed with their backs against the headboard, but looking at each other talking, Josh jumped up on bed in a standing position over her, which scared Molly. Molly quickly scrambled out of bed to get away from Josh. Josh jumped out of the bed and came at Molly. Josh grabbed Molly and slammed her into a large mirror with a very large frame around it that they have hanging on their bedroom wall. The back of Molly's head and left arm hit the side of the mirror and frame. Molly stated that this caused her a great deal of pain to her arm and head. Molly remembers being so scared that she screamed.

The NFL became involved in the case at the 2016 Pro Bowl in Hawai’i. The Brown family attended, with Josh and his then-estranged wife staying in separate hotel rooms as divorce proceedings were underway. After an incident where hotel security was called, the NFL moved Molly Brown to a different hotel room.

Despite being aware of the two incidents, the Giants elected to resign Brown in this offseason. Last season, his 93.8% field goal accuracy led the NFL. Now that the sordid details are now being publicly known, everybody is now asking “why?”

The Giants signed former Bears kicker Robbie Gould for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams in London; Brown will remain in New York while the NFL reopens their investigation.

It’s an investigation that likely won’t end well for Brown; I suspect that he’s played his last NFL game. The Giants and the NFL were criticized in August for their handling of Brown, and that will only grow as more is disclosed about Brown. Baltimore Raven’s wide receiver Steve Smith made it clear that Brown’s actions cannot be tolerated.

Smith is right. The actions in the evidence that SNY obtained from the sheriff in Washington State make it clear that Brown’s behavior should disqualify him from playing football again.