Former Tennessee Vols linebacker Greg Johnson is witness in Peyton Manning’s 1996 incident with trainer Jamie Naughright, and his take could help the star.
For nearly a month now, we have heard about the scandal surrounding Peyton Manning when he allegedly dropped his pants and placed his genitals on a trainer’s face in 1996. The entire discussion was based on a New York Daily News article written by Shaun King that cited only the accuser’s side of court documents in a defamation suit related to the case seven years later.
Related Story: Is Peyton Manning Retiring or Is He Not?
Now, after other reporters did digging to pull up Manning’s side of the case, more details have emerged. While Manning’s biggest detractors point to Malcolm Saxon, the key witness in the case, denying Manning’s account, Monday Morning Quarterback writer Robert Klemko has revealed a new witness who was there during the incident in an article about new revelations surrounding the case.
Former Vols linebacker Greg Johnson, who was Manning’s roommate at the time, came out and said he was also in the locker room at the time of the incident and that Naughright’s account of it in 2003 “just didn’t happen.” Here is his quote in the story on exactly what happened.
"“Saxon walks in, and Peyton was the kind of guy who had to be friendly with everyone; he wanted to include everyone, from his teammates to the cross country guy. He says hey to Saxon and pulls down the back of his shorts, and I saw one butt cheek, and then he pulled his pants up. And Jamie said something like, ‘Aw, you’re an ass.’ Then I left. Thought nothing of it.”"
That account not only aligns with Manning’s description of what happened, but it also aligns with Naughright’s description in her 1996 affidavit, where she never once mentioned contact.
It’s important to note that Saxon never mentioned contact either, even in the letter cited in the 2003 court document.
Meanwhile, Saxon and everybody else involved with accusing Manning at the time refused to speak with MMQB, according to their account.
To be fair, detractors will still make the argument that it looks very suspicious for Johnson to come out now. However, MMQB reported that he reached out to Manning right after King’s story broke and said he was willing to talk off the record.
More volunteers: 5 Things to Watch for from Vols in Spring Practice
He said he was initially hesitant about being named because he can sometimes serve as an undercover investigator.
The article also has released details of a woman claiming to be Naughright leaving a voicemail at the house of Manning’s parents threatening to release all of the documents against him the week before the Super Bowl, which it stated was similar in content and language to two years worth of calls to the Knoxville News-Sentinel reported recently by GoVols columnist John Adams.
All of this sheds new light on the story that laid claim to Manning’s reputation being “built on lies.”