"I was repulsed, scared, and intimidated" - Revisiting troubling sexual assault allegation levied against NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning is inarguably one of the greatest quarterbacks to have ever graced the NFL. A five-time league MVP and two-time Super Bowl winner, there's little to dispute the legacy left behind by Manning.
But the much-loved quarterback has a controversial past. When the quarterback was playing for the University of Tennessee, he was accused of sexually assaulting a female athletic trainer. The trainer in question was Dr. Jamie Naughright. The alleged incident happened back in 1996, when Manning was a 19-year-old student.
Naughright claimed that the quarterback put his "testicles and anus" on her face while she was carrying out an examination on his foot. Dr. Naughright spoke to Inside Edition about the incident that scarred her forever.
"I was repulsed. I was scared. I was intimidated... It was definitely a predator - intimidating, anger, violent eyes that he had."
The former trainer went on to narrate the series of events that took place that day.
"I felt something on my face. Peyton had pulled his shorts down and sat with his anus and testicles on my face. I pushed him off and then he turned around and pulled his shorts back up."
The two reportedly agreed not to discuss the matter publicly as part of a settlement. But Naughright was mentioned in a condescending manner in a book written by Peyton Manning and his father Archie. As a result, the trainer filed a defamation lawsuit.
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Peyton Manning dismissed sexual assault accusations as categorically false
Peyton Manning has always maintained his stance regarding the matter. In his book, he denied the claims and said that he was simply 'mooning' a teammate. For those who are unaware of what that is, it is the act of flashing one's bare buttocks and bending over.
But after reviewing Dr. Naughright's case, the court ruled that there was sufficient evidence for it to be heard by a jury. This prompted the quarterback's team to move quickly and settle with the former trainer outside of court back in 2003.
Dr. Naughright made other shocking claims as well. According to Sports Illustrated, she alleged that university officials looked to downplay the entire incident in order to protect the quarterback.
Ok like....you can criticize Antonio Brown and Terrell Owens for their behavior and that's fine but at the end of the day it's dudes like Ben Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning who've been accused of things like rape/sexual assault/sexual harassment
She even claimed that one university official asked her to pin the entire blame on an African-American athlete instead.
The NFL can be a dark place. With such allegations present against some of the league's most beloved superstars, you sometimes wonder who these athletes really are behind the scenes.