Sheriff: NFL didn't go through proper channels to get Josh Brown info
A Washington state sheriff criticized the NFL after the league made a statement about how his department handled information requests into a domestic violence investigation involving New York Giants placekicker Josh Brown.
The King County Sheriff's Department released documents this week in which Brown acknowledged that he physically abused his ex-wife.
The NFL says it tried on multiple occasions to get information about Brown, but were denied by the King County's sheriff office.
"Each of those requests was denied and the Sheriff's Office declined to provide any of the requested information, which ultimately limited our ability to fully investigate this matter," the NFL said in a statement.
King County sheriff John Urquhart told Seattle radio station KIRO that the NFL investigators never identified themselves when asking about Brown.
"'NFL, National Football League,' he could have (said) any of that," Urquhart said. "Robert Agnew, Comcast.net, post office box in Woodinville. We had no idea who this yokel is."
Brown was arrested for fourth-degree assault in May 2015, and that misdemeanor charge was dropped a few days later.
Brown's ex-wife, Molly, told police last year that Brown had been physically violent with her at least 20 times, and the violence began when the she was pregnant with their daughter, but Urquhart maintains that the league never went through the proper channels to get the information they were seeking.
"I would have said exactly the same thing, 'We cannot release the case file,'" Urquhart said. "But since this is a hot-button item in the NFL, since it's the NFL, we probably would have told them orally a little bit more about what we had. I don't like to get pushed around by a bully."
Brown was suspended for one game for violating the league's personal conduct policy. The NFL has said it could not acquire enough evidence during its investigation to levy a longer suspension, but is now re-opening its investigation into the case.
Brown also will not travel with the team to London for a game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
– Scooby Axson
