Kicker Brandon McManus released from Commanders over sexual assault allegations

The NFL’s Washington Commanders announced on Sunday that they have released kicker Brandon McManus.

The move, announced on thatSocial media platform Xcame without giving any reason or background.

McManus is facing a civil lawsuit from two women who claim he rubbed himself against them and tried to kiss one of them while they worked as flight attendants on a team-chartered flight last year when he was still playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Commanders said last week that the team was “investigating the matter.”

When asked if his firing was related to the allegations of sexual misconduct, Commanders spokesman Sean DeBarbieri responded by email on Sunday: “We have nothing to add other than our roster change stating that we have released Brandon McManus from the team.”

The lawsuit filed in Duval County, Florida, seeks more than $1 million in damages and names McManus and the Jaguars, his team at the time of the alleged incident on September 28 on an Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings flight from Florida to England, as defendants.

The Jaguars have said they are aware of the allegations and are investigating the case. “It must be emphasized that we insist on an organization built by people who represent our community and our game with the highest character and class,” the team said in a statement to NBC affiliate station WTLV in Jacksonville.

A lawyer for McManus, Brett R. Gallaway, responded to the lawsuit last week, calling the allegations “demonstrably false.” The lawsuit, Gallaway said, amounts to an “extortion attempt.”

He did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the release of his client by the Commanders on Sunday.

The lawsuit alleges that McManus recruited members of the flight crew to join him and some teammates in an impromptu in-flight party during which other flight attendants engaged in “inappropriate drinking and dancing.” The two women who filed the lawsuit did not attend, it says.

McManus repeatedly attacked one of the two women, “apparently because she did not want to participate in the festivities,” the filing says. He tried to kiss her and later grabbed her and rubbed himself against her so she could feel his erection, the document says.

He also groped the second plaintiff and rubbed himself against her while she was serving in-flight meals, the lawsuit says.

As a result of his alleged actions, the women suffered psychological distress and their careers were affected, the file states.

The lawsuit accuses McManus of assault and sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence and gross negligence on the part of the Jaguars. It claims the team failed to “enforce a zero-tolerance policy regarding inappropriate conduct” and failed to ensure a safe environment for team employees.

The plaintiffs want a jury trial.

Gallaway, McManus’s attorney, said in his statement last week that the allegations were false.

“These are absolutely fabricated and demonstrably false allegations made as part of a campaign to defame and vilify a talented and respected NFL player,” he said.

With the release of McManus, the Commanders are without a kicker for the time being. McManus, who turns 33 in July, began his NFL career in 2014 with the Denver Broncos. The Commanders signed him in March.