In the past year, a once-respected icon, Bill Cosby, has faced backlash and an utter crumbling of his good-guy, Greatest Dad Ever image as stories of his long history of rape and sexual abuse came to light…but only for some of us, and it took more than 50 women coming forward before those of us who accepted the truth were willing to do so.
Oddly, however, that story was made public many years ago when the first civil suit against Cosby was filed, but very little discussion of it ever appeared in the media.
Many still struggle to reconcile their image of Heathcliff Huxtible, America’s Dad and hero, with the sexual predator he clearly was behind the scenes. It is disturbing to consider how someone can present an image in public that everyone embraces that then makes it utterly impossible to publicly sanction that person when they commit sexual crimes that destroy the lives of their victims.
Such is the case with NFL star and recent Super Bowl winner, Peyton Manning.
Shaun King of the NY Daily News made a startling discovery when he was sent documents stemming from a 1996 report of an alleged sexual assault by Peyton Manning. King reports:
“Thirteen years ago, USA Today obtained 74 pages of explosive court documents on Peyton Manning, Archie Manning, the University of Tennessee, and Florida Southern College that revealed allegations of a sexual-assault scandal, cover up, and smear campaign of the victim that was so deep, so widespread and so ugly that it would’ve rocked the American sports world to its core.”
The Back Story
In 1996, Dr. Jamie Naughright accused Manning of sexual assault. Naughright was a respected doctor and trainer for UT’s sports program – first for the Lady Volunteers, then for the men’s programs. Naughright struggled with sexual harassment from her boss, associate trainer Mike Rollo. Rollo referred to Naughright by the name “C*nt Bumper” due to her earlier position as trainer for the “Lady Lickers,” as Rollo liked to call the Lady Volunteers in reference to his belief that the female athletes were all lesbians.
Despite the harassment, Naughright continued to maintain a professional relationship with staff and students. She received excellent evaluations and worked to address some of the sexist comments she heard directed toward her and other women with students as well as staff. Although Rollo insisted she would just have to “get used to” being referred to by sexist and degrading names as well as a certain amount of vulgarity in her position working around so many men, Naughright persisted in trying to change the toxic culture.
Enter Peyton Manning, son of NFL star Archie Manning, who was expected to be the Football God who would make the University of Tennessee the most successful it had ever been.
During Peyton Manning’s first semester at the university in 1994, an incident occurred between the two that set the tone of their interactions together, although that incident is redacted from reports and remains a mystery.
Two years after that incident, Manning’s contentious relationship with Naughright culminated in an incident of sexual assault witnessed by another athlete and student.
“On Feb. 29 of that year (1996), Naughright, at that point the university’s director of health and wellness, was in a training room, examining what she thought might be a possible stress fracture in Manning’s foot. At 6 feet, 5 inches, his feet dangled off the edge of the table. Manning allegedly then proceeded to scoot down the training table while Naughright examined his foot. At that point, she said, he forcefully maneuvered his naked testicles and rectum directly on her face with his penis on top of her head. Shocked, disgusted, and offended, Naughright pushed Manning away, removing her head out from under him. Within hours, she reported the incident to the Sexual Assault Crisis Center in Knoxville.”
Manning first denied that the incident ever occurred, then later insisted he was trying to “moon” another athlete and Naughright witnessed it. The other student, Malcolm Saxon, denies that claim entirely in his affadavit.
“Peyton, you messed up. I still don’t know why you dropped your drawers. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe not. But it was definitely inappropriate. Please take some personal responsibility here and own up to what you did. I never understood why you didn’t admit to it….”
Saxon lost his eligibility to play for UT when he stuck to his story. Manning went on to win Super Bowls and see everyone in the know about the incident work to protect his reputation, going so far as to request that Naughright change her story to blame a black player rather than Manning, accusing the doctor of using “vulgar” language around other students, and having promiscuous sexual relationships with many of the black players. No student or athlete will concur with these stories and maintain that Naughtright was professional in her interactions with them and that they never had knowledge of her having had sex with any student. She refused to change her claim to indict a black player and was asked to resign from the University of Tennessee. Both Manning and Naughright signed a confidentiality agreement and Naughright rebuilt her life and career at Florida Southern.
In 2001, Archie and Peyton Manning wrote a book entitled “The Mannings,” which spun the story of the contention between Peyton and the trainer in such a way as to destroy Naughtright’s reputation and led to her being asked to resign from her job again, this time from Florida Southern. Naughtright brought a civil suit against the Mannings this time, and won.
The Response
Although USA Today received the court documents in 2003 and two of their writers even wrote about the incident, the story was not widely disseminated, nor has it been revisited in the media. The cover-up of the claim against Peyton Manning was widespread and a “squeaky-clean” image was created despite the allegation of sexual assault and the overtones of racism that were uncovered.
Even today, at a time when social media disseminates stories of sexual assault widely, the story has not become widely-known in the same way that others have, such as the stories of Ben Roethlisberger or Jameis Winston. Sports news shows such as “Mike & Mike” and “First Take” are finally talking about the claim and taking responsibility for not discussing the story more fully, perpetuating the protection of squeaky-clean image.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zumi5Gdxi8w
There are many questions left to be answered and to take away from the protection of Manning over this suit. Manning, after all, has been left largely alone to continue his career and to depict himself as a super-clean celebrity with strong family values and a golden image. Naughtright’s career has been destroyed because she dared to report sexual assault by a man posed to be a celebrity and football star from a famous family.
The questions that arise are many, but those that first come to mind are this: Is it possible for a woman to be believed over a man with such an image? Is it at all possible for us to adjust our perception of the good man taken down by a vengeful woman out to destroy him?
Most importantly, is it possible for America to overcome a culture which has historically supported rapists over their victims?
Featured image via Flikr by John Doe
