Giants owner just made the Josh Brown domestic violence fiasco even more nauseating
The NFL world was rocked Thursday by explosive revelations that New York Giants kicker Josh Brown admitted to abusing his former wife -- writing, among other things, that "I viewed myself as God basically and she was my slave" -- before he signed a $4 million contract in April, and before he was suspended for just one game to open this season.
Outrage spread far and wide among fans, players and media alike. Then Giants co-owner and CEO John Mara made everything worse in a Thursday afternoon radio interview.
"Listen, he’s admitted to us that he’s abused his wife in the past. I think what’s a little unclear is the extent of that," Mara said on New York's WFAN sports station, before adding that "what we have read about is obviously disturbing."
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Not surprisingly, the crux of Mara's statement along with the rest of his WFAN interview, rubbed many the wrong way.
Here's ESPN's Jemele Hill.
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Here's Annie Apple, whose son Eli plays cornerback for Mara's Giants team.
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Here's The Nation's Dave Zirin.
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Here's -- well, you get the point. You can find many, many more examples of the reactions Mara elicited if you care to sift through Twitter.
Meanwhile, Mara sang a much different tune in September 2014, when the NFL was in damage-control mode following another domestic violence incident by a different player.
"There is no place for domestic violence in our sport or in our society, and we are committed to doing our part to prevent such heinous acts going forward," Mara said then.
That was just over two years ago.
Hypocrisy, thy name is John Mara.
Sam Laird is Mashable's Senior Sports Reporter. He covers the wide, weird world of sports from all angles -- as well as occasional other topics -- from Mashable's San Francisco bureau. Before joining Mashable in November 2011, his freelance work appeared in publications including the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Slam, and East Bay Express. Sam is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, and basketball and burritos take up most of his spare time. Follow him on Twitter @samcmlaird.