Yesterday, SI ran a story that had statements from a former Tennessee player Greg Johnson, who was also Peyton Manning’s roommate. Johnson essentially absolved Peyton Manning of any wrongdoing in his interaction with trainer Jamie Naughright.
According to Johnson, Peyton Manning was mooning someone else and it had nothing to do with Naughright. Most ran with the story as facts, even Peter King who tweeted it was indeed FACTS.
Re @RobertKlemko’s story on Manning/Naughright, he presented the facts. You decide who to believe.https://t.co/CnxFIkoHPi
— Peter King (@peter_king) March 3, 2016
These “facts” are being disputed by ESPN.
A former University of Tennessee football player came forward this week to say he witnessed an incident between Peyton Manning and a female trainer 20 years ago, but his presence is not corroborated in hundreds of court documents reviewed by Outside the Lines or by another teammate who has long been identified as having been in the training room.
Another teammate of Manning’s, former football player Kevin Horne, identified in several court documents as having been in the training room during the incident, told Outside the Lines that Johnson’s presence was news to him.
“I never saw him,” said Horne, who has never spoken publicly about the incident. “I saw that story and I’m like, ‘Greg Johnson?’ I like Greg, but, sorry, I don’t remember that.”
Horne is the one in all the court documents, Johnson has never been mentioned by anyone even Peyton Manning or his lawyers until yesterday.
So, who are you more likely to believe?