In Letter to Giants, Speaker Urges Team to Join #NotAFan

New York –New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, in a letter to the New York Giants slammed, the team for their “bizarrely light punishment” of Josh Brown and urged the team to participate in #NotAFan –  a campaign with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV)  to address domestic violence in professional sports. Brown disclosed his history of abuse to the Giants ownership. The campaign features sports figures from the New York teams: The Yankees (Joe Girardi), Mets (Jeurys Familia), Knicks (John Starks), Liberty (Kiah Stokes), Rangers (Rod Gilbert), and Cosmos (Lucky Mkosana and Giovanni Savarese) in a series of video PSAs and photography portraits. The Giants declined to participate in the campaign.

As the letter says: “In September, I publicly expressed my disappointment over the National Football League’s (NFL) decision to suspend your kicker, Josh Brown, for only one game, in response to a previous arrest for domestic violence.  This bizarrely light punishment undercut the NFL’s own recommended six-game suspension for domestic violence…. Although the Knicks, Liberty, Mets, Yankees, Cosmos, and Rangers all participated in #NotAFan, the Giants (and Jets) declined, making the NFL a notable exception to an otherwise outstanding campaign. Law enforcement is now investigating Brown for extended emotional and physical violence against his ex-wife, Molly Brown, who has provided disturbing proof of his conduct.  Police documents released reveal that he admitted to abusing his wife.  In an email, Brown also acknowledged that he “objectified women and never really worried about the pain and hurt I caused them.”

 The full text of the letter is below

To the New York Giants:

In September, I publicly expressed my disappointment over the National Football League’s (NFL) decision to suspend your kicker, Josh Brown, for only one game, in response to a previous arrest for domestic violence.  This bizarrely light punishment undercut the NFL’s own recommended six-game suspension for domestic violence.

Subsequently, my office reached out to your team to participate in the #NotAFan campaign for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, in partnership with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

When an athlete is involved in a domestic violence incident, sports fans are often caught in the middle and forced to reconcile their allegiance to a team and their feelings about domestic violence with little direction.  This can cause conflict, confusion, and misunderstanding.  #NotAFan provides sports fans with a medium where they can openly support their team while maintaining and communicating that domestic violence is unacceptable, rather than picking a “side.”

Although the Knicks, Liberty, Mets, Yankees, Cosmos, and Rangers all participated in #NotAFan, the Giants (and Jets) declined, making the NFL a notable exception to an otherwise outstanding campaign.

Law enforcement is now investigating Brown for extended emotional and physical violence against his ex-wife, Molly Brown, who has provided disturbing proof of his conduct.  Police documents released reveal that he admitted to abusing his wife.  In an email, Brown also acknowledged that he “objectified women and never really worried about the pain and hurt I caused them.”

I am writing to invite you to meet with me and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence to discuss what the Giants and the NFL can do to address this ongoing and disturbing issue, and to show leadership by joining the #NotAFan campaign.

It is unacceptable to continue to defend Brown.

 

Sincerely,

Melissa Mark-Viverito

Speaker, New York City Council

 

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