JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Former Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Brandon McManus has been accused of sexually assaulting two women during the team’s flight to London last year, according to a lawsuit obtained by News4JAX.
The unidentified women, who were working as flight attendants on the Jaguars’ Sept. 28, 2023, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings charter flight, filed the lawsuit Friday night in Duval County Circuit Civil Court.
According to the lawsuit, McManus, 32, rubbed himself against them and was grinding on them during what was described as a party-like atmosphere on the 8-hour flight.
Throughout the flight, the lawsuit says, the women smelled marijuana coming from the plane’s restrooms.
The lawsuit said the women were “in fear for their safety if they attempted to struggle with a large drunk athletic man.” The lawsuit lists McManus’ height as being 6 feet, 3 inches, while the two women were 5′2″ and 5′3″ and for those reasons, among others, it says, there was no way for these women to avoid or fight him off.
The lawsuit also claims that McManus recruited three other flight attendants to the party and passed out $100 bills to encourage them to drink and dance inappropriately for him, according to ESPN.
“McManus holds himself out on social media to be a devoted husband and father, but his conduct behind the scenes is consistent with the NFL’s pattern of sexual assault against women,” the lawsuit reads. “The NFL’s failure to properly address this undeniable culture of sexual harassment and violence against women led to the preventable and disgraceful misconduct towards Plaintiffs at the hands of Defendant Brandon McManus.”
The lawsuit says McManus leaned in to kiss one of the women, despite her being obviously uncomfortable. It says she put her hand up to block herself and told him to go away, which he did for a short period of time. The lawsuit also says the woman froze when McManus started grinding up against her.
The lawsuit also says each time McManus violated the women, he “waited until they were engaged in a job duty that made evading his attacks difficult.” According to the lawsuit, one of the plaintiffs stayed in the aircraft’s second story to avoid McManus on the return flight.
McManus’ attorney, Brett R. Gallaway, released a statement Monday night to ESPN:
“These are absolutely fictitious and demonstrably false allegations made as part of a campaign to defame and disparage a talented and well-respected NFL player. We intend to aggressively defend Brandon’s rights and integrity and clear his name by showing what these claims truly are -- an extortion attempt.”
The women also accused the Jacksonville Jaguars of failing to supervise McManus and failing to create a safe environment for staff serving the team, stating that the team failed “to properly train McManus about inappropriate sexual contact with flight staff.”
They’re seeking an excess of $1 million and are demanding a jury trial.
Jaguars head coach, Doug Pederson, said this when asked if there was a party type atmosphere on the plane. “A typical flight is not that way, it’s a business trip and that’s how we approach it from an organizational standpoint. When I read that -- that part was disappointing.”
The Jaguars released the following statement:
We’re aware of the complaint, and we acknowledge the significance of the claims. As we continue to look into the matter, it bears emphasizing that we insist on an organization built by people who represent our community and game with the highest character and class.
Jacksonville Jaguars
McManus played one season for the Jaguars after spending nine seasons with the Denver Broncos. He signed a one-year, $3.6 million contract with the Washington Commanders on March 14.
