Peyton Manning explained his side of the story more than 10 years ago when he was accused of sexually assaulting an athletic trainer, and his recollection of the events was very different from the accuser’s.
On Friday, WATE-TV released the 2003 affidavit that contained Manning’s testimony in response to a lawsuit from former University of Tennessee trainer Jamie Naughright (formerly Jamie Whited). Manning told the court at the time that he was simply mooning a teammate while Naughright was treating his foot on Feb. 29, 1996. He insists he had no idea she saw him.
“After completing my workout on that day, I was sitting on the training table wearing a T-shirt, a pair of shorts and a jock strap,” Manning explained. “I was talking to a fellow athlete, Malcolm Sexon, who was sitting a few tables from me. Ms. Whited came into the training room to ask about my foot. She then asked me to hop off the table so she could examine my foot. I hopped off the table and continued my discussion with Mr. Sexon.
“Once off the table, Ms. Whited moved behind me so that she could examine my foot. At that point, Mr. Sexon made a comment to me intended as a joke regarding my then-girlfriend (now wife), the substance of which I cannot recall. After hearing his comment, I pulled down my shorts for about one second to expose my buttocks to him, or as is colloquially known, to ‘moon’ him. … I immediately pulled my shorts back up while Ms. Whited continued to examine my foot. My shorts were never down further than exposing my buttocks. I did not pull them down to my ankles.”
Manning claims Whited remained in the training room for 20 minutes after he mooned Sexon, and she did not say anything or seem upset. He said she was “crouching down very low to the ground” when he exposed himself and he did not think Whited could see him.
Later that night, Manning says he got a visit from then-Tennessee head athletic trainer Mike Rollo, who asked what had happened with Whited. Manning claims he was surprised to learn that she had seen him and was upset, so he called her to apologize. Whited’s husband said she “doesn’t want to talk to you” and hung up. Manning also tried to apologize at Whited’s office the next day and called her a few more times, but he was never able to connect with her.
Manning’s entire explanation is worth reading. Whited, of course, accused him of pulling down his pants and sitting on her head. The allegations resurfaced in a recent lawsuit against Tennessee, which you can read more about here.
We know at least one person who believes Manning’s side of the story. Some are convinced he is lying, however, as evidenced by this group urging sponsors to drop the two-time Super Bowl champion.
Between the resurfacing of the sexual assault allegations and the reports that Manning’s wife received illegal HGH shipments, Peyton’s squeaky-clean imagine has taken quite the hit in the last several months.
H/T Albert Breer
