NFL kicker Brandon McManus accused in sexual assault lawsuit

Two women are suing kicker Brandon McManus and the Jacksonville Jaguars, claiming McManus sexually harassed them during the team’s overseas flight to London last year, according to court documents obtained by ESPN.

The two women – identified as Jane Doe I and James Doe II in the lawsuit filed Friday night in Duval County Circuit Court Civil – accuse McManus of rubbing and grinding against them. They also accuse the Jaguars of failing to supervise McManus and provide a safe environment for team personnel.

They are demanding more than a million dollars and a jury trial.

A statement from McManus or his attorney is expected to be released later Monday, a source told ESPN. The Jaguars declined to comment through a team spokesman. ESPN has also contacted McManus’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

The Jaguars did not re-sign McManus in the offseason and he signed a one-year, $3.6 million contract with the Washington Commanders on March 14.

According to the lawsuit, the two women worked as flight attendants on the Jaguars’ Sept. 28, 2023 charter flight from Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, and they claim the flight “quickly turned into a party” as McManus and several other players disregarded the flight attendants’ privacy, flight safety and federal law. The lawsuit also alleges that McManus recruited three other flight attendants for the party and handed out $100 bills to encourage them to drink and dance inappropriately for him.

Doe I accuses McManus of attempting to kiss her while she was seated during a period of turbulence and of rubbing himself against her twice while she was serving the flight’s two meals, according to the lawsuit. Doe I claims that during the first attack, she looked into the eyes of another Jaguars player, who she says appeared ashamed of McManus’ behavior.

Doe II claims that McManus rubbed up against her as she served the second meal of the flight. According to the lawsuit, Doe II confronted McManus, who “grinned and walked away.” The lawsuit says that on the team’s Oct. 8 flight from London to Jacksonville, Doe II stayed on the second floor of the plane to avoid McManus.

The lawsuit states that this was the first Jaguars charter flight the two women had worked on and that they had experienced severe mental anguish, anxiety, psychological and emotional distress, embarrassment and humiliation. They had been removed from the core crew of Jaguars charter flights, something they had worked hard for, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit accuses the Jaguars of gross negligence for failing to properly hire McManus, failing to educate him about inappropriate and sexual contact with flight crew, failing to supervise him during flights, failing to implement policies and procedures to protect flight crew from sexual misconduct by their employees, and failing to enforce a zero-tolerance policy toward inappropriate behavior.

McManus signed with the Jaguars on May 5, 2023, after being released by the Denver Broncos. The Jaguars gave him a one-year contract worth $2 million, and he converted 30 of his 37 field goal attempts and all 35 of his extra point attempts last season.