University of Tennessee Has Some Explaining To Do
The Denver Post/Photo by Aaron Ontiveroz
Since the unsavory story resurfaced regarding Peyton Manning’s alleged lewd act toward former University of Tennessee trainer, Jamie Naughright, I can’t help being drenched in more disgust and disappointment every day.
What’s so disturbing is that there are men that are the fathers of daughters who have diminished Manning’s despicable behavior to that of the dalliance of a 19 year-old boy.
Yeah, I get that in our past we’ve done stupid things. But I wonder how these same fathers would have reacted if it were their child who was the victim of a star quarterback’s demoralizing deed.
It’s a sad statement that some fans are so devoted to their athletic heroes that they’ll deny any wrongdoing just… because.
The one aspect of this incident that I find so insulting is the criticism towards Naughright for not taking Manning’s “prank” in stride – you know, “If you want to hang with the guys…”
Seriously? I’ve traveled the world doing stand-up comedy in the company of mostly men, and pride myself with being able to more than hold my own.
But in 20 some odd years of being on the road, sometimes having to share a room with a guy named Phil who I first met at the airport, I never came across a situation where a male comic dangled his genitals in my face expecting me to think it was fun.
What separates me from Jamie Naughright? I was always part of the joke, never a victim of one. Naughright didn’t deserve to be the brunt of a college-aged boy’s bad behavior, and then have to live with his claim that he was actually “mooning” the football-playing friend standing behind him.
But Malcolm Saxon’s affidavit stating otherwise does not help Manning’s cause – and the $300,000 settlement Naughright received from his famous father hasn’t washed away the humility, shame and marred reputation of someone who was just doing her job.
And instead of coming clean, which Saxon, in a letter to Manning, pleaded for him to do, he’s stuck to his lame story, slandered Naughright in a book, and is still looked upon to many as the golden boy of the gridiron.
The University of Tennessee has some serious explaining to do. Twenty years after the fact, a lawsuit by six women who claim that UT has condoned sexual hostility by student athletes on their campus further reeks of a cover-up more insidious than Watergate
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About The Author
suekolinsky
Sue Kolinsky is a writer/producer whose career began as a waitress in Manhattan. After a cynical remark got her fired, she took her humor to a place it would be appreciated – The NY Improv, which is where she launched her 20-year stand-up career. After much time spent performing at clubs, colleges and numerous tours with the USO, along with appearances on The Tonight Show and Bob Hope’s Young Comedians Special, she replaced her microphone with a Mac computer and began writing and producing TV. She has written on “Brotherly Love,” “Sex and the City,” and “The Ellen Show.” In 2001, She got a call to be a producer on the groundbreaking reality series, “The Osbourne’s.” She had no idea a new phase of her successful career was about to unfold. After garnering her first Emmy nomination, she went to produce a new MTV show called, “Newlyweds,” a reality series that documented the early-married life of Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey. In 2009 she landed a job as supervising producer of the highly touted culinary competition series, “Top Chef.” She eventually became co-executive producer, garnering two more Emmy nods. Adding to her many hats, Sue also co-hosted a morning radio talk show with Steve Mason, on NY’s iconic WNEW. Having the dubious honor of going up against Howard Stern, the show was cancelled after sixteen months, but her partnership with Mason paid dividends. When he returned to his prior radio sports talk gig in LA, he gave Sue a featured segment on the show. Sue’s love of sports surfaced at the age of 10 when her older brother turned her on to baseball, and her hero, “The Say Hey Kid,” Willie Mays. While she still followed the Giants, her uncle’s box seats at Shea Stadium made her a Mets fan, and to this day, she’s still chasing the high of ’86. Sue’s love of writing about sports began as a daily analysis of the World Series on Facebook. Due to popular demand, she has created this blog. As if that’s not enough she just completed producing the past season of Last Comic Standing, and is writing an animated feature. Sue lives in Long Beach, California with her husband and two grown dogs.