Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is among the athletes cited in a lawsuit filed last week by six former female students alleging that the University of Tennessee has violated Title IX regulations.
The group of women argues its athletics department has long condoned a “hostile sexual environment” stretching back to the mid-1990s, citing nearly a dozen instances of former student athletes accused of sexual assault, including Manning, according to The Tennessean.
According to the newspaper, the allegation that Manning sexually assaulted a female athletics trainer while in college was first reported in 2003.
The federal suit filed last Tuesday in Nashville states Tennessee’s policies made students more vulnerable to sexual assault and had a “clearly unreasonable response” after incidents that caused the women making complaints to endure additional harassment. The suit also states the university interfered with the disciplinary process to favor male athletes.
Manning won his second Super Bowl last Sunday when the quarterback and his Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers. The 39-year-old future Hall of Famer is taking his time on deciding whether to come back another year or retire, as most expect him to do.
According to The Tennessean, the lawsuit calls out an alleged 1996 incident in which Manning, while the star quarterback for the Volunteers, was accused of placing his naked genitals on the face of the female trainer while she was examining him. Manning has denied the allegations and said he was “mooning” a fellow athlete.
—Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee last month to clean up an old injury, says the knee “feels great.”
Rodgers, 32, has spent the past week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, playing with Wisconsin PGA pro Jerry Kelly.
“It was just good to be out there walking normally,” Rodgers said, via USA TODAY Sports. “It feels great. It’s nice to not have any clunking around or anything, so it was good.”
Rodgers said he had a scope performed on his knee soon after the Packers’ 26-20 overtime loss on Jan. 16 to the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC divisional playoffs.
—Former University of Texas and Houston Oilers great Earl Campbell is hoping to sit down with troubled Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel.
Campbell and Manziel, who played at Texas A&M, are both from Tyler, Texas, and former Heisman Trophy winners.
The 60-year-old Hall of Fame running back told ESPN that a friend affiliated with Texas A&M asked him to speak with Manziel. Campbell said he also has reached out to Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin and the two of them exchanged messages last week.
“We gotta get him some help,” Campbell told ESPN. “I know everybody says that, but if you’ve never been there, how can you listen to someone? I think some former Heisman winners like myself, some Hall of Famers that have done it all, he should sit down and listen to what we have to say because we’ve been through it all.”
Manziel, a first-round draft pick by the Cleveland Browns, has struggled to stay out of trouble since entering the NFL in 2014.
—Ken Whisenhunt, returning to the San Diego Chargers as offensive coordinator, wants to develop a strong running game in 2016.
Whisenhunt spent one season as the Chargers’ offensive coordinator under head coach Mike McCoy in 2013 before being hired as head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2014.
The Chargers’ offense struggled in the two seasons since Whisenhunt left. He was fired on Nov. 3 after a 3-20 record as the Titans’ coach, including 1-6 last season.
Whisenhunt now returns as the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator. The Chargers’ running game fell to 30th and 31st the past two seasons.