Peyton Manning squeaky-clean, all-American image may have been built on lies. USA Today released court documents on Saturday that the newspaper received thirteen years ago of sexual assault lawsuit levied against the Super Bowl-winning quarterback, and a subsequent smear campaign by the Manning family against the alleged victim, Dr. Jamie Naughright — including a statement that implies Naughright deserved what she got because of her alleged history of dating Black student athletes. 

According to the New York Daily News, in 1996, when Manning was still attending University of Tennessee, the young QB assaulted Naughright, an associate athletic trainer for the school’s football program. In the alleged incident, Manning “forcefully maneuvered his naked testicles and rectum directly on her face with his penis on top of her head.”

In response, Manning made comments about Dr. Naughright in an attempt to smear her image. He told his father “she’s kind of trashy,” and “had the most vulgar mouth of any girl he’d ever seen.” These statements were denied when Manning and several of his fellow students were forced to testify under oath. Additionally, the ghostwriter of Manning, a book ‘written’ by both Peyton and his father, stated under oath that Archie Manning suggested to him “Naughright was going into the dorms and having sex with large numbers of Black students.” 

Whether or not Manning is guilty of the allegations, one thing is for sure: after the recent barrage of negative press that Cam Newton faced for his "unsportsmanlike" post-Bowl behavior, these developments further prove that the way the media has historically treated white quarterbacks is far different than the way it treats their Black counterparts.

(Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)