NFL has not ruled out putting Josh Brown on commissioner's
exempt list

The NFL said on Thursday it plans to review the new
information disclosed on Wednesday about the Josh Brown domestic violence case
and decide any “next steps” it might take.

The league is considering the possibility of placing Brown
on the commissioner’s exempt list (i.e. paid leave) while it considers
discipline, a person with knowledge of the situation told Tom Pelisero of USA
TODAY Sports, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of
the situation.

That was the mechanism the NFL used – with players’ consent
at the time, prior to the implementation of the league’s updated personal
conduct policy – to take Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and
then-Carolina Panthers 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.

On Thursday, the league released the following statement
from Brian McCarthy, VP of Communications:

“NFL investigators made repeated attempts—both orally and in
writing—to obtain any and all evidence and relevant information in this case
from the King County Sheriff’s 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. We
concluded our own investigation, more than a year after the initial incident,
based on the facts and evidence available to us at the time and after making
exhaustive attempts to obtain information in a timely fashion. It is unfortunate
that we did not have the benefit or knowledge of these materials at the time.

“In light of the release of these documents yesterday, we
will thoroughly review the additional information and determine next steps in
the context of the NFL Personal Conduct Policy. We will not be making any
comments on potential discipline until that time. “

Documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports show the NFL filed a
public record request with King County in May 2015.

Brown said he had "been physically, emotionally and
verbally" abusive, according to documents related to Brown’s domestic
violence case obtained by USA TODAY Sports and other media outlets on
Wednesday.

The confessions came from Brown’s journals and emails that
were given to Kings County (Wash.) Sheriff's Office investigators by his
then-wife, Molly Brown, after Brown was arrested in May 2015.

The  misdemeanor
domestic violence charge was dropped within days of his arrest in Woodinville,
Wash., after prosecutors reviewed the case. The NFL, which said it lacked the
cooperation of Molly Brown, suspended Josh Brown for the first game of the
season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

Brown told reporters in August that the incident was a
single "moment in time," but the documents show that may not be the
case.

"I have been a horrible husband and stepfather,"
Brown wrote in one of his journal entries.

"I have abused my wife," read another entry with
the words underlined and circled.