Content warning: This story includes descriptions of alleged sexual assault.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson on Tuesday fielded questions about the lawsuit accusing former Jacksonville kicker Brandon McManus of sexual assault on a 2023 team flight and the franchise of gross negligence amid the incident.
Pederson said he was unaware of the situation before the news broke on Monday.
“I saw the article that came out. Obviously, disappointing to hear the news that took place. Other than that, honestly, being that it’s a legal matter at this time I can’t really comment until more information is gathered,” Pederson stated.
McManus, 32, has been accused of groping two female flight attendants and attempting to kiss one of them during the Jaguars’ Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings charter flight to London on Sept. 28, 2023, according to a lawsuit filed in Duval County Circuit Civil Court on Friday, via ESPN.
The lawsuit alleges McManus offered money to three other flight attendants to drink and dance inappropriately in what was described as a party-like atmosphere on the flight, an aspect of the recounted event that Pederson explicitly disapproved of.
“I mean, a typical flight is not that way. It’s a business trip,” Pederson explained. “That’s how we approach it from an organizational, from a league standpoint. For that, when I read that, that part of it is disappointing.”
Pederson added that seating isn’t randomized on team charter flights when asked if staff is separated from players during travel.
“I’m not going to get into a ton of those questions right now until, again, more information. But we sit down — just maybe a brief comment. We do sit down and want to make sure that the players are together, and coaches are together and staff is together. Everybody is comfortable and has space,” Pederson said.
The Jaguars are accused in the lawsuit of “failing to properly hire McManus, train him about inappropriate and sexual contact with flight staff, supervise him on the flight, adopt policies and procedures to protect flight staff from sexual misconduct by its employees, and enforcing a zero-tolerance policy regarding inappropriate behavior,” per ESPN’s reporting.
The women seek more than $1 million and have demanded a jury trial.
McManus, who signed with the Jaguars on a one-year, $2 million contract in 2023, was not retained by Jacksonville this offseason after going 30-of-37 on field goal attempts and 35-of-35 on extra point attempts over 17 games last year.
He signed a one-year, $3.6 million deal with Washington this past March, over two months before the lawsuit was filed.
Pederson said McManus was let go for reasons that did not include the lawsuit, including performance, cost and potential the Jaguars saw in young kicking prospects this offseason. Jacksonville selected Arkansas kicker Cam Little in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft.
“In this business, whether it’s a coach or player, it’s performance-driven, right? Then you start talking about contracts and the amount of contracts and the number, dollars and cents that go into it a little bit, the age of the player. A lot of things can factor into it.
“The fact that, it’s a key position, it’s critical, it’s valuable because it gives us as a team points on the board or not. Then if we have an opportunity to draft somebody, looking forward, then we take advantage of that.”
