The Washington Commanders released kicker Brandon McManus on Sunday after he was accused by two women of sexually assaulting them on a flight last season, when he was with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The women claim the flight “quickly turned into a party” as McManus and other players violated air travel safety regulations. According to the lawsuit, McManus “recruited” three other flight attendants to the “party” and handed out $100 bills to encourage them to drink and “dance inappropriately for him.” The suit claims those three employees are no longer working for Atlas Air.
The NFL prohibits alcohol on team planes or buses, a rule it emphasized in a 2022 memo after then-Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke was photographed with a beer in his hand during a postgame flight. The Florida court filing also alleges the women could smell marijuana coming from the airplane’s restrooms.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Monday that the league was aware of the lawsuit against McManus and had been in contact with the Commanders.
According to the court filing, Jane Doe I accused McManus of attempting to kiss her while she was strapped into the jump seat amid turbulence during the flight. The woman allegedly put her hand up to block McManus’s unwanted advance.
The lawsuit also claims McManus grabbed Jane Doe I and grinded against her on two occasions as she served in-flight meals. She alleged that during that first instance of assault, she made eye contact with another Jaguars player who appeared ashamed of his teammate’s behavior. The second instance of assault happened under similar circumstances, the lawsuit claims: Jane Doe I was serving the second in-flight meal and McManus again grabbed her by the waist and “rubbed his clothed but erect penis on her multiple times.”
Jane Doe II claimed McManus acted similarly with her during the second in-flight service. The lawsuit claims he grinded against Jane Doe II and she could not push him away because she was holding a tray in the aisle. When Jane Doe II turned around and confronted McManus, he “smirked and walked away,” according to the complaint. The lawsuit also states that Jane Doe II stayed on the second level of the aircraft to avoid McManus during the team’s return flight Oct. 8. The lawsuit claims the women sustained “pain and suffering and psychological and emotional distress, mental anguish, embarrassment, and humiliation.”
The Jaguars also were named defendants and were accused of negligence for failing to properly hire McManus, educate him on inappropriate sexual contact, supervise his conduct in flight, create and implement a zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate behavior and create a safe environment for the airplane staff. The women are seeking damages in excess of $1 million and a jury trial. McManus and the Jaguars have until June 17 to respond to the complaint.
McManus attorney Brett R. Gallaway said in a statement last week that the allegations are “absolutely fictitious and demonstrably false” and that they were “made as part of a campaign to defame and disparage” McManus. “We intend to aggressively defend Brandon’s rights and integrity and clear his name by showing what these claims truly are — an extortion attempt,” Gallaway added.
In a statement from a team spokesperson Monday, the Commanders acknowledged they were made aware of the lawsuit that day. “We take allegations of this nature very seriously and are looking into the matter,” the statement read. “We have been in communication with the league office and Brandon’s representation, and will reserve further comment at this time.”
The Jaguars said they are aware of the complaint and “acknowledge the significance of the claims.”
McManus signed a one-year deal with the Jaguars in May 2023 after spending the previous nine seasons with the Denver Broncos, helping them to a Super Bowl 50 victory during the 2015 season. Commanders General Manager Adam Peters was Denver’s assistant director of college scouting at the time.
McManus signed with the Commanders on a one-year, $3.6 million deal in March to replace Joey Slye, who briefly was McManus’s successor in Jacksonville before getting cut and signing with the New England Patriots.
By releasing McManus, the Commanders will eat $1.5 million in dead money under the salary cap. For six-plus years, Washington relied on Dustin Hopkins, but a string of misses led to his departure early in the 2021 season and a carousel of replacements. There was a failed experiment with Chris Blewitt that season (three missed field goals in two games), an interim stint with Brian Johnson as Slye recovered from an injury and then two mostly decent years with Slye before McManus’s arrival.
Washington will now search for its fifth kicker in four years, with limited proven options at this point of the offseason.
