Peyton Manning’s offseason continues to get worse.
A 1996 sexual assault investigation involving the Denver Broncos quarterback and former Tennessee trainer Jamie Naughright resurfaced a week ago when new court documents were published by the New York Daily News.
Will Hobson of The Washington Post reported Friday that an academic fraud allegation two years prior in 1994 might have led to the 1996 incident between Manning and Naughright, according to court documents from her defamation suit against the then-Indianapolis Colts quarterback.
“A review of court records connected with a lengthy legal dispute between Manning and former Tennessee trainer Jamie Naughright shows a possible explanation for the acrimony: She may have accused him of cheating in a class,” Hobson writes.
The class professor, Carmen Tegano, who also serves as an associate athletic director, denied any wrongdoing took place.
“It was a one-hour pass/fail class that was required of all athletes, and under no circumstances did Peyton Manning cheat. The class was based on attendance … It was an orientation class,” Tegano told Hobson. “Do you think he needed to cheat in a pass/fail class? … We’re talking about a man who graduated with one of the highest grade-point averages in his class.”
Manning has not yet commented on this latest report, and if he retires, we might not get — at least for a while — any answers to the mountains of questions piling up from both alleged incidents.
Thumbnail photo via Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports Images
