Peyton Manning Addressed the Sexual Harassment Allegations So Why Did a Bunch of Writers Gloss Over It?

Because legacies shouldn't gloss over the nasty bits and those who choose not to write about the negative are revealing themselves.

Image via USA TODAY Sports/Ron Chenoy

You know what would have been a big deal? 

Peyton Manning signing with the Rams. Or the Jets. Or whoever else needs a QB these days.

Because watching Manning get emotional announcing he will not be continuing his amazing, record-breaking career for a 19th season didn't just bore me. It didn't interest me. Or anybody else here at Complex, for that matter.  

Manning was a shell of his former self this past season and got to go out on top with a second Super Bowl. That's good, fantastic. He really had no business seriously considering fleecing another team out of eight figures next season when he can't throw the ball so...retiring and choosing to walk off into the sunset isn't that big of a deal here. He's done. He made the right move. Next man up. It's been a pleasure. See you in the Hall of Fame in five years. 

The only interesting or newsworthy thing to come out of Manning officially announcing he's done with football was when he, for the first time since they resurfaced, addressed the allegations he sexually harassed a female athletic trainer during his days at Tennessee. That's kind of a big deal. That's interesting. That's what people should had to write about in their odes to Manning, the two-time Super Bowl champion and five-time league MVP, or at least mention, right? 

Depends.

“I think it is sad that some people don’t understand the truth and the facts," Manning said when USA TODAY's Lindsay Jones asked him to finally address the incident we all knew he didn't want to address. "I did not do what has been alleged, and I am not interested in re-litigating something that happened when I was 19 years old. Like Forrest Gump said, ‘That’s all I have to say about that.’”

Case closed from Manning's perspective, and case closed from a lot of people's perspective depending on if you believe Manning was just goofing around that day. Less so for the people who think he's a despicable human being for what he may or may not have done. We don't know exactly what happened and probably never will, but whatever did go down will forever be part of Manning's legacy. It has to be. The question of how big a part is up to the media members who have spent their careers covering him. 

So who addressed the allegations and who swept them under the rug?

Friend of Complex Sports Jason Whitlock took to Tumblr to call out those vilifying Manning and used the opportunity of Manning's answer to Jones' question to a discussion of race and double standards. As always, I'll let his words to the talking for him. And for the record, there was one "Wire" reference. 

USA TODAY columnist Jarrett Ball devoted a large chunk of his column to it, included giving a shout out to his colleague. 

When the toughest question came, from USA TODAY Sports’ Lindsay H. Jones, regarding the 20-year-old sexual harassment allegation from a female trainer during their tenures at the University of Tennessee, Manning was ready for that, too.

ESPN's Jeff Longwood's mentioned it in his 1,100-plus word story. You just have to scroll all the way to the end to read about it. 

At one point, Manning did address the lawsuit filed by a group of women alleging that the University of Tennessee violated Title IX regulations and created a "hostile sexual environment" with an attitude of indifference toward assaults by student-athletes.

But then we have Peter King of MMQB who devoted all of three sentences of his 2,700-plus word story. Two of them were Manning's response to Jones' question.

NFL.com's Albert Breer briefly mentioned the "saga," but would you expect the shield's network to wade back into murky waters of one of its brightest stars? Of course not. 

And finally, Woody Paige of the Denver Post wrote about Manning's legacy in the wake of his retirement. Not one mention of the allegations. 

So why should you care? Why should you find this all interesting? 

Because legacies shouldn't gloss over the nasty bits, or even the slightly unpleasant ones, and those who choose not to write about the negative are revealing themselves. I understand relationships have to be protected, sources have to be kept in good standing, but if you're spending your day writing about the career of Peyton Manning and putting his career/impact in perspective then you have to do more than just mention the incident in passing. It changed his narrative for a lot of people. It probably cost him the Heisman Trophy back in 1997. Don't patronize people. Write critically, write fairly, write respectfully, and don't ignore the controversy—especially since it was arguably the hottest topic in the NFL post Super Bowl. We're big boys. We can handle it. Peyton Manning and his handlers should be able to as well. 

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