But Naughright again took legal action against Manning in 2005, when he spoke about the 1996 incident in an ESPN documentary.
Advertisement
But last week, Shaun King of the New York Daily News posted a very powerful piece about a sexual assault allegation against Manning while he was a student at the University of Tennessee.
Naughright, who did not reply to ABC News, filed a defamation suit against Manning, his father Archie, the book’s ghostwriter, John Underwood, and publisher, Harper Collins. The trainer, Jamie Naughright, filed a complaint and later settled the case with the university.
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) leaves the field after an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015, in Denver.
Attorney Brian Kent of the firm behind AbuseGuardian.com commented on this news by stating, “Reporting an assault can be an emotional experience, which can reopen wounds”. I do not think he should be given a pass just because he is “Peyton Manning”.
Ramsey added Tuesday that if a student allegedly involved in a sexual assault has this type of hearing, the person making the complaint is permitted to have a lawyer who can intervene on her behalf and cross-examine witnesses. It was settled in 2003.
At the time Naughright went by the name Jamie Whited. She claims the book casts her in a negative light and that Manning’s characterizations were false and led to her losing her job at Florida Southern College. Shocked, disgusted, and offended, Naughright pushed Manning away, removing her head out from under him (see pages 14-15).
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock the last few weeks, I’m sure you’ve heard the hot topic of the National Football League offseason so far. “At one point they even asked Dr. Naughright to blame her leave of absence after the Manning incident on another player”.
But Manning wasn’t the only athlete named in the new lawsuit.
Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of UltraViolet, stated, “When institutions like the University of Tennessee tacitly condone violence against women by ignoring cases of sexual assault by student-athletes, it perpetuates a unsafe culture of violence that ultimately hurts women everywhere”.
Manning denied the trainer’s claims, saying he was simply “mooning” another athlete who was in the room.
Super Bowl champion quarterback Peyton Manning.
The subject of Manning was of course brought up during the edition of First Take, and as you would expect Stephen A. Smith had some thoughts about all of this. The complaint also outlines bullying and harassing behavior against Naughright during the immediate aftermath of the incident and years later, when Manning made a brief mention of what happened in a book.
Not only did he put up the same numbers that he did in the early years of his career, but he did a lot more than that. There have also been murmurs around the league that Manning may work in an NFL front office or become a TV commentator.
Advertisement
The two parties reached a settlement on December 3, 2003; the court gave final approval on January 12, 2004, dismissing the case. Polian admitted that he never spoke to Manning about the specific event when vetting the quarterback before drafting him No. 1 overall in 1998, and he seems to believe that despite an admission of a less-severe offense, despite a punishment being administered to Manning, and despite numerous settlements out of court, nothing at all happened.
