Commanders kicker Brandon McManus has been accused of sexual assault by two flight attendants on the plane that took his former team, the Jaguars, to London during the 2023 season. McManus, through his lawyer, has denied the allegations.
“To be clear,” attorney Brett R. Gallaway said (via Sam Fortier of the Washington Post), “these are absolutely fictitious and demonstrably false allegations made as part of a campaign to defame and disparage a talented and well-respected NFL player. We intend to aggressively defend Brandon’s rights and integrity and clear his name by showing what these claims truly are — an extortion attempt.”
Generally speaking, few if any civil defendants ever hire a lawyer to tell the world on the heels of the filing of the lawsuit, “Yep, I did it.” In this case, the denial is strong and sweeping and stretches beyond merely saying it didn’t happen to supplying an extortion motive to two different people, and their counsel.
If it’s made up, the fact will bear that out. Now that a lawsuit has been filed, both sides will have a chance to prove their case. The plaintiffs will tell their story. McManus will tell his. Witnesses will help move the needle one way or the other. Barring a settlement, a jury will decide who’s telling the truth, under the low standard of preponderance of the evidence/more likely than not.
The suggestion that it’s an extortion attempt raises the question of whether the plaintiffs previously attempted to secure payment from McManus in settlement of the claims. That’s what happened with the person accusing Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott of sexual assault. Prescott and his lawyers opted for the ultra-aggressive move of suing the alleged victim and her lawyers.
If McManus previously had been put on notice of the claim, the next question becomes whether he disclosed it, to the Jaguars or the Commanders or the NFL. On this point, the Personal Conduct Policy contains a clear and unambiguous requirement: “Clubs and players are obligated to promptly report any matter that comes to their attention (through, for example, victim or witness reports, law enforcement, civil litigation, or media reports) that may constitute a violation of this Policy.”
If McManus had been put on notice of the claims as an attempt to settle then before the lawsuit was filed (which is very common in the legal profession), he arguably had a duty to disclose it. If he knew about it before he signed a contract with the Commanders that has $1.5 million in guarantees at signing, that could potentially become a separate issue.
There are two different issues here. One, did he do what he’s accused of doing? Two, when he first became aware of the claim, did he promptly report it? It doesn’t matter if he denies it. It doesn’t matter if he truly didn’t do it. If, that is, the NFL will be enforcing the policy as written.
We know from experience that this isn’t something that consistently occurs.
So those are the issues for now. Did it happen? The court system will resolve that. Did McManus comply with the Personal Conduct Policy’s reporting requirement? That depends on facts that have not currently been disclosed.