New York Giants release kicker Josh Brown after admission of domestic abuse

The New York Giants announced Tuesday that they've cut kicker Josh Brown from the team. The announcement followed last week's release of journals, letters, and emails in which Brown admitted he'd been abusive toward his wife, Molly Brown. ABC News reported that in one journal entry, Brown wrote, "I have abused my wife."

The Giants have maintained they did not know about the documents before they were released last Wednesday. "We believed we did the right thing at every juncture of our relationship with Josh," team president John Mara said in a statement. "Our beliefs, our judgments, and our decisions were misguided. We accept that responsibility."

In a statement Tuesday, Brown apologized and said he has "never struck his wife, and never would." "I am sorry that my past has called into question the character or integrity of the New York Giants, Mr. Mara, or any of those who have supported me along the way," Brown wrote, promising to tell "more of the pain I had caused and the measures taken to get help so I may be the voice of change and not a statistic."

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The NFL placed Brown on the commissioner's exempt list Friday, which meant he couldn't attend practice or games, but could still collect his base salary of $1.15 million. Prior to that, he served a one-game suspension, sitting out the first game of the 2016 season for "violating a protective order against his wife in 2015," Sports Illustrated reported. Though Brown was arrested over that incident, he was not charged.

Brown and his wife have filed for divorce.