Tamarick Johnson
MC Practicum
Peyton Manning was being celebrated just a few weeks ago when he won his second Super Bowl ring. But old sexual harassment allegations have surfaced and brought that celebration to an end.
The alleged incident took place in 1996 at the University of Tennessee in the training room. A female trainer, who has now been identified as Jamie Naughright, claimed she was harassed while working for the Tennessee Volunteers training staff.
According sbnation.com, Manning bumped his private area into the face of Naughright when she was examining his foot. Manning claimed at the time he was mooning a teammate who was across the room. This case did not get much publicity at the time it occurred and eventually was settled in court.
“You can never discredit a sexual harassment case when there are plenty of incidents where someone went to higher authority about the incidents. If they are documented, you cannot discredit them,” said Jason Hursey, a junior marketing major from St. Louis, Mo.
The settlement that was reached in 1997 between Naughright and the University of Tennessee was a total of $300,000 according to thebiglead.com. Now that this incident is resurfacing and new information about it is coming out, a lot of opinions are being formed about it.
Everyone knew who Manning was on the campus of the University of Tennessee when he played football there from 1994-1997. Manning was a prominent figure on the campus and they may have been the reason for the quick settlement in 1997.
“I honestly feel like there is more to it. There is a lot that Manning and the university is hiding because of who he grew to be in the NFL and UT being such a big university itself, but Manning is definitely getting a pass. Jameis Winston went through something similar and he almost lost his football career because of it and people even labeled him a rapist. Then from reading and watching TV, it didn’t go that far with Manning so he is definitely getting a pass,” said Gerall Smalls, a sophomore civil engineering major from Jacksonville, Fla.
In 2002, Naughright sued Manning and his father Archie Manning for defamation. According sbnation.com, a section in the book titled: “Manning: A Father, His Sons and a Football Legacy”, spoke about the training room situation and she felt she was belittled. In 2003, an undisclosed settlement was reached in the case.
“Being that these allegations were so long ago, I feel he’ll be excused. I believe that he’s been placed so high on a pedestal that people will make excuses & exempt him from his wrong doing because he is who he is. We try to shy away from the reality & actuality of situations like such because we separate morality & decency & they’re one in the same,” Aiyana Tindle, a sophomore communicative disorders major from Saint Louis, Mo.
According to ESPN.com, there have been several sexual assault complaints made against Tennessee student-athletes over the past four years. The lawsuit against Tennessee names 10 players, including Peyton Manning.
“On a biased note, athletes are targets, especially the ones who are about to go pro or destined to go pro. Does that mean they can’t be in such drama, no they can. I do think it’s more to it. Whether he did it or not, he’s Peyton Manning. At the time he was the next big thing. Tennessee didn’t want that type of attention towards their program,” said Hursey.
Manning has not released a statement since the allegations of the incident have been made public again.
