Dr. Jamie Naughright was the director of health and wellness at the University of Tennessee at the same time star quarterback Peyton Manning was lighting up the record books for the Vols. On a February day in 1996, Naughright was examining Manning’s injured foot in a university training room when she says she was sexually assaulted by the future NFL Hall of Famer.
Naughright detailed her account on television for the first time on Monday, speaking with Inside Edition’s Deborah Norville to describe an event that she says has haunted her for 21 years.
“I felt something on my face, and Peyton had pulled his shorts down and sat his anus, his testicles, on my face,” Naughright said. “I pushed him up and he pulled his shorts back up. I called him an ass.”
Manning disputes that claim, saying he was simply horsing around with a teammate and did not make any contact with her. Naughright sued Manning for defamation in 2003, after the former Colts and Broncos quarterback co-authored an autobiography with his father, Archie, in which he mentioned his version of what happened that day in 1996. Manning also gave his side of the story in an unsealed deposition that same year.
“I briefly pulled down my pants to so-called ‘moon’ him,” Manning said in the deposition. “One second, one and a half seconds, pulled my pants back up and continued with Jamie’s examination of the bottom of my foot.”
Naughright said she decided to give her public testimony on TV after the flurry of sexual assault allegations leveled at Hollywood producer and mogul Harvey Weinstein.
“The reason why I’m here today is due to the courage and the bravery of the women who have come forward in the Harvey Weinstein [scandal], “she said. “The survivors and the victims, and that is what has caused me to come here today to discuss this issue.”
Manning’s lawyer responded to the Inside Edition report with a statement categorically denying her version of events.
“Peyton Manning has been absolutely clear: Jamie Naughright’s accusations are false,” the statement read. “When her claims were first investigated 21 years ago, she told a very different story. Her current account was invented several years later in connection with her first of several groundless litigations against Peyton. Most recently, she left Peyton’s mother a vulgar and extremely disturbing voicemail. Ms. Naughright should stop this abusive behavior.
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