Peyton Manning was once accused of sexually harassing a female trainer in University of Tennessee
Before Peyton Manning conquered NFL, he made his name playing for the University of Tennessee. His meteoric rise in the world of pro football, which saw him being selected into the NFL Hall of Fame, often eclipses the controversies associated with him. One such controversy from his time in college was that he sexually harassed a female trainer in 1996.
According to the accusation, when the trainer was examining him, Manning allegedly thrust his genitals onto her face. Dr. Jamie Naughright was examining his foot when she accused Peyton Manning of the said behavior.
“It was the gluteous maximus, the rectum, the testicles and the area in between the testicles. And all that was on my face when I pushed him up and off. And it was like this and as I pushed him up to get leverage. I took my head out to push him up and off,” she said.
She added that she called the quarterback an 'ass' to which he allegedly reacted with anger. She also named another student-athlete as a witness to the event.
“When he turned around and looked at me with the anger in his eyes that I saw, I did not want to get confrontational with him. I could see that anger and when I looked at [another student-athlete, Malcolm] Saxon he was just shocked. He had his mouth wide open and he was in shock. In disbelief.”
Peyton Manning has denied the allegations
Throughout his career, whenever these allegations surfaced, Peyton Manning has denied them. He was deposed in 2003, but he denied the accusations even then. He maintained that it was only a prank gone wrong.
"I briefly pulled down my pants to so-call 'moon' him [Malcolm Saxon], one second, one and a half seconds. Pulled my pants back up, and continued with Jamie's examination of the bottom of my foot."
She had sued the quarterback for defamation after he discussed the incident in a chapter of his book. Titled “Manning,” it appeared to have been written by Peyton Manning, his father Archie Manning, and ghostwriter John Underwood. The book was published by Harper Collins.
After leaving the University of Tennessee, Dr. Naughright worked as program director of the Athletic Education Training Program at Florida Southern College. In 1998, she was the head athletic trainer for the U.S. women’s track and field team in Beijing.
However, it was when she was working at the Florida college that she received the infamous book. She alleged that the book led to her termination, apparently after her supervisor saw it. According to reports, Dr. Naughright was away on a medical trip to South Africa when the book arrived addressed to her married name. It had the name "Dr. Vulgar Mouth Whited" mentioned in it.
Polk County Circuit Judge Harvey A. Kornstein wrote in that case,
“Even if the plaintiff is a public figure, the evidence of record contains sufficient evidence to satisfy the court that a genuine issue of material fact exists that would allow a jury to find, by clear and convincing evidence, the existence of actual malice of the part of the defendants.”
Eventually, Peyton Manning and Dr. Jamie Naughright settled outside the court. As part of the settlement, they reportedly decided not to discuss the matter in public going forward.
However, the quarterback allegedly brought it up again during "ESPN Classic Sports Century: Peyton Manning," for which she sued again. That lawsuit was settled in 2005. The incident also formed part of a lawsuit brought against Tennessee in 2016 that alleged that the university violated Title IX by treating assaults by student-athletes nonchalantly and creating a hostile work environment.