3 Stories: Giants Release Brown, NCAA & Academic Incentives, Bounty Claims

The New York Giants released kicker Josh Brown earlier this week. That decision followed the public release of documents in which Brown admitted to abusing his wife. Should the league be policing players' conduct off the field? That's the first discussion on this week's edition of "3 Stories You Should Know." Mina Kimes of ESPN and Patrick Hruby of Vice Sports join Bill Littlefield.

1. Giants Release Kicker Josh Brown

Josh Brown's ex-wife, Molly, told the police that Brown had been violent with her on more than 20 occasions. A few days ago, new documents emerged in which Brown directly confessed to abusing his wife, which led the Giant's to release him. Here's what Mina thinks of the situation:

Like many football fans, I don't like the idea of being forced to watch an alleged domestic abuser on the field. But a piece by Diana Moskovitz in Deadspin changed my thinking. She wrote about how women like Molly Brown can be fearful of reporting abuse because they don't want to threaten their husband's livelihoods. And she asked, quite convincingly, could these punishments backfire on them? I found myself agreeing with her, wondering if we need to re-work the entire process, to prioritize the needs of victims — not necessarily fans like myself.

2. NCAA To Pay Schools For Players' Academic Performance
The NCAA announced its plans to distribute revenue to member schools for their athletes' academic performance. The change will begin in 2019-2020. In other words, if a team hits certain academic benchmarks, the school's athletic department will get some extra cash. NCAA president Mark Emmert said the association is "putting its money where its mission is." Patrick Hruby says this is an empty gesture:

Here's how you know this is hollow: This is supposedly an attempt to financially incentivize better performance in the classroom. But the overwhelming number of financial incentives in college sports are still attached to winning games. That's how you get paid if you're a coach, that's you keep you're job if you're an athletic director, that's how you get on TV and get paid under the table or make it to the NBA, if you're a player. None of us are tuning in to watch all of these wonderful players go to science lab.

3. Artis Hicks Claims Vikings Had A Bounty System
In Jeff Pearlman's new book about quarterback Brett Favre, Artis Hicks claims that eight years ago, the Vikings had a bounty system. Hicks says: "I had coaches start a pot and all the veterans put in an extra $100, $200, and if you hurt someone special, you get the money." The Vikings and the man who was coaching them at the time deny the claim, though one of them acknowledged that there were “incentives for big plays, not injuries.” Here's what Bill has to say about Artis' claims:

I don’t know what Artis Hicks would have to gain by making this up. Also, I think the overlap between 'big plays' and 'injuries' is substantial, especially given that anybody playing football understands how beneficial it can be to a team if an important player on the other team is disabled…meaning actual bounties might be superfluous.

More Stories You Should Know: