{"id":4949,"date":"2016-02-15T08:49:20","date_gmt":"2016-02-15T13:49:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=4949"},"modified":"2022-07-03T15:07:43","modified_gmt":"2022-07-03T19:07:43","slug":"sexual-allegations-against-manning-implosion-patriots-in-2005","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2016\/02\/15\/sexual-allegations-against-manning-implosion-patriots-in-2005\/","title":{"rendered":"Were the Sexual Allegations Against Manning the Reason He Imploded Against the Patriots in 2005?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Daily News made some noise on Saturday, having\u00a0been the first legitimate news outlet to go after Peyton Manning for getting off unscathed for allegedly sexually assaulting a female trainer<\/a><\/strong> back during his college days in Tennessee. \u00a0It’s been a story that has been mentioned in several reports, but the Daily News went in-depth while uncovering\u00a0facts about the squeaky clean quarterback which\u00a0painted a less than perfect picture of the recent Super Bowl Champion.<\/p>\n

For anyone who hasn’t heard, Manning was involved in a scandal back during his time as the quarterback at the University of Tennessee where he allgedly sexually assaulted\u00a0the then well-respected Director of Health and Wellness, Jamie Naughwright, who at the time was also the Volunteers’ head trainer. \u00a0The incident occurred while Naughwright was examining Manning’s foot for a potential bone fracture, which\u00a0Manning\u00a0then\u00a0“forcefully maneuvered his naked testicles and rectum directly on her face with his penis on top of her head.”<\/p>\n

It ultimately lead to Naughwright filing a complaint that was eventually settled as the Manning family and the University did their best to bury the incident. \u00a0Considering the fact it\u00a0took place back in 1996, which was an era before social media, before Twitter, before Facebook, it was\u00a0the perfect environment to make a bad decision and escape relatively unscathed.\u00a0 Naughwright was forced out from Tennessee, the University where she had served since 1989 and had an impeccable reputation. \u00a0But that didn’t stop them from siding with their star quarterback.<\/p>\n

Manning claimed he mooned a teammate, but that same teammate denied that Manning did so, imploring him to do the right thing “and own up to what you did”. \u00a0However, that didn’t happen and she was asked by the University\u00a0to leave. \u00a0Thanks to a\u00a0settlement agreement,\u00a0the two sides\u00a0agreed to keep everything confidential due to the agreement within the document.<\/p>\n

However,\u00a0the arrogance of Manning and his father stirred the pot again and opened all the wounds back up for Naughwright. \u00a0Manning and his father, Archie, released a book in 2001 and Peyton referred to the former trainer in the book in a derogatory manner, which due to the distraction it caused where she was working at Florida Southern, cost Naughwright her job\u00a0due to the controversy and the stress it created.<\/p>\n

She fought back, suing the Mannings and the ghost writer of the book in a defamation suit.\u00a0\u00a0The best part was, the judge sided with her and the case went to court, leading to a public battle where Manning continued to try and make up stories about her, which we won’t get into here because it’s pretty despicable, but strangely enough he received no support from former players and students who testified in court weren’t true. \u00a0It was ultimately settled in 2003 and the terms were not disclosed.<\/p>\n

But do you think Manning learned his lesson? \u00a0No…not at all.<\/p>\n

He made remarks referencing\u00a0her again during a documentary entitled “ESPN Classic Sports Century: Peyton Manning,” clearly ignoring the court agreement. \u00a0Naughwright didn’t let that one slide either, filing a motion against him on Friday January 14, 2005, just days before he was set to play the New England Patriots<\/strong><\/a> in the AFC Divisional round. \u00a0For anyone who remembers, Manning and the Colts came into that game as the dominant offense in the NFL,\u00a0throwing 49 touchdowns and finishing\u00a0as the league’s MVP.<\/p>\n

But with another lawsuit looming before the contest, Manning’s dismal performance in a 20-3 defeat against a dominant Patriots defense now takes on a little more intrigue considering how no one knew what was brewing in the background. \u00a0No real mention of that story was made at the time, with just the Florida Times-Union as the remaining outlet<\/a><\/strong> with any mention of the filing.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to this year where little was mentioned again of that story or the HGH report from Al Jazeera that built a strong case against Manning\u00a0and certainly falls into the “more probable than not” that something fishy was going on. \u00a0The league claims they’re looking into it, but it won’t make any where near the amount of noise DeflateGate did.<\/p>\n

As for the sexual assault, the Daily News taking the time to write the story expounding on the disgusting details of what Manning did is refreshing. \u00a0However, according to a Tweet from WEEI’s John Dennis, don’t expect ESPN to say anything as Dennis reported that the network has specifically told their employees not to report or discuss the Daily News story on the quarterback.<\/p>\n

\n

I was just told by a current ESPN anchor that all ESPN employees were told not to report or discuss the Daily News story on Peyton Manning.<\/p>\n

— Mut at Night (@MutAtNightWEEI) February 14, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n