Giants care more about Odell Beckham Jr. celebrating touchdowns than Josh Brown beating his wife

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New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo has been very critical of Odell Beckham Jr.

He called the flamboyant wideout a distraction last month and criticized him this week for getting slapped with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after scoring the game-winning touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens.

But when it comes to Josh Brown’s brutal history of wife-beating, McAdoo is silent. That’s disgraceful.

It’s been two days since SNY obtained documents from Brown in which he admits to serially abusing his wife, Molly, over a period of several years. “I have physically, mentally, emotionally and verbally been a repulsive man,” Brown writes in one of the entires. Below that, he circles the words, “I have abused my wife.”

Brown was arrested May 2015 in Washington state for a fourth-degree domestic violence charge, but the case was dismissed five days later. The NFL suspended Brown one game for the incident, and McAdoo said he respects his kicker “as a man, a father and a player.” The Giants still proceeded to support Brown in late August when the New York Daily News published the police report and 911 calls related to his arrest last year. In them, Molly says Brown had been physically violent with her on more than 20 occasions since 2009, when she was pregnant with their daughter.

The Giants now admit they knew about Brown’s past. In an interview with WFAN Thursday, owner John Mara said Brown told them he has beaten Molly. “He’s admitted to us he’s abused his wife in the past,” Mara said. “But what I think is a little unclear is the extent of that.”

Those 24 words say the Giants are OK with signing domestic abusers –– up to a certain point. It would be interesting to hear Mara’s response if asked how much woman-beating he’s willing to accept from players before it becomes a problem. Is it five domestic violence incidents? 10? 15?

Though the Giants aren’t allowing Brown to make the trip to London, he’s still on the roster. McAdoo said Friday the team “isn’t going to turn [its] back on Josh.” If Brown’s written confession about hitting his wife in front of their kids isn’t enough to force the Giants to cut ties, it’s scary to imagine what the breaking point is.

This is no longer a “he said, she said” debate. When the NFL first levied its appallingly meager one-game suspension on Brown, he said it was “just a moment.” It’s now clear he was lying. But yet, the Giants want to stand by their 37-year-old kicker. It’s as disgusting as it is bizarre.

The Giants have made their priorities clear. They’re OK with domestic violence and down with touchdown celebrations. Hit your wife all you want, but don’t you dare hug the kicking net.

There’s never been a more perfect representation of the NFL’s backwards priorities.