Giants owner defends Josh Brown signing despite domestic violence claims

John Mara says he's 'comfortable' having the kicker on his roster

The Giants came under fire recently when kicker Josh Brown was suspended for a single game by the NFL. Not because he was suspended, but because the suspension looked light based on the revelation of multiple domestic violence allegations from Brown's wife.

Read the things she claims Brown did and it is hard to understand how he only got one game. Giants owner John Mara defended his kicker on Wednesday, however, saying the team was "comfortable" bringing Brown back based on its own investigation into the details.

"When there's an employment situation you've got to make a decision based on the facts and circumstances in front of you, and that's what we did," Mara said, via the New York Daily News. "And we felt that based on that, we were comfortable signing him. I'm not going to make any comments about the voracity of the allegations or anything like that. We were comfortable in making an employment decision."

"We were certainly aware at the time that there were allegations of numerous incidents," Mara added. "Based again on the facts and circumstances, we were comfortable with our decision."

Mara is one of the most respected and venerable owners in the league. The New York Daily News reported he was "visibly shaken" by dealing with the Brown issue while speaking to the media.

He also said that domestic violence is not a "black and white" issue.

"A lot of times there's a tendency to try to make these cases black and white. They are very rarely black and white. You very rarely have a Ray Rice video," Mara added. "There are allegations made, you try to sort through the facts, you try to make an informed decision. That's what we did."

Mara also said he has to answer to the women in his life when making his decision to keep Brown employed.

"I'm painfully aware of that," he said. "I have four daughters and seven sisters, and I know I've got to face each one of them. These are not easy decisions. It's very easy to say, 'The guy's been accused, get rid of him, terminate him.' But when you're sitting at the top of an organization and you're responsible for a lot of people, you'd better make more informed decisions than that."