Written by Tom Pelissero at USAToday.com
The NFL is placing embattled New York Giants kicker Josh Brown on paid leave via the commissioner’s exempt list, two people with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the league had not announced a status change for Brown, whom the Giants left home from their trip to London to play the Los Angeles Ramsafter police released documents in which Brown admits abusing his ex-wife.
In a letter obtained by USA TODAY Sports, NFL senior vice president of labor policy and league affairs Adolpho Birch informed Brown that “pursuant to the Personal Conduct Policy, Commissioner Goodell has placed you on the Reserve/Commissioner Exempt list on a limited and temporary basis to permit the league fully to review the materials and determine whether further action is necessary. We expect to conduct this review expeditiously and make any appropriate adjustments to your roster status in a timely manner.”
Brown has three days to appeal the ruling.
The move allows the Giants to sign veteran kicker Robbie Gould to take Brown’s place without releasing another player to clear a roster spot — which would have been a bad look for everyone involved, given the team’s decision not to cut Brown immediately.
The exempt list is the mechanism the NFL used — with players’ consent at the time, prior to the implementation of the league’s updated personal conduct policy — to takeMinnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and then-Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy off the field amidst their legal troubles during the 2014 season.
The current conduct policy says paid leave is an option for anyone charged with a crime of violence or if an investigation “leads the Commissioner to believe that you have violated this policy” by committing such conduct.
“The NFL has the ability to place a player on the exempt list and the player has the right to appeal that decision, if he chooses,” the NFL Players Association said in a statement. “The League office wanted unilateral control of this process and accordingly, their system lacks transparency.”
The NFL said Thursday it is reopening its investigation of Brown based on allegations in the documents, which it requested from the King County (Wash.) Sheriff’s office shortly after Brown’s May 2015 arrest for fourth-degree domestic violence assault, but didn’t receive until they were released to the public Wednesday afternoon. The charges were dropped in August.
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