Doug Pederson Didn't Know Alleged Assault Happened During Team Flight

It was completely understandable Tuesday that Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson was unwilling to discuss sexual assault allegations made in a civil lawsuit against former kicker Brandon McManus.

This is, after all, an ongoing legal matter and no one in a position of authority generally wishes to wade into such matters unless directed and coached to do so by lawyers.

But the things Pederson talked about seem to raise more questions than they answer.

Nobody said anything to Pederson

First, Pederson says he wasn't aware of the problem until he read an article about it on Monday.

“Yes, I saw the article that was published,” Pederson said. “Obviously, it's disappointing to hear the news that has occurred. Other than that, honestly, given that this is a legal matter at the moment, I can't really comment until more “information will not be collected.”

Pederson needs more information because he doesn't seem to know much about the issue after confirming the article was the first he'd heard of it.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of it, yes,” Pederson said.

The ESPN article reported that two women who worked as flight attendants on Jaguars charter flights to and from London last year – before and after their two games at UK – accused McManus of rub against them and crush them.

They also accuse the Jaguars of failing to supervise McManus and failing to create a safe environment for team personnel.

The suit, filed last week by attorney Tony Buzbee, who represented the plaintiffs against Deshaun Watson, seeks more than $1 million in damages and a jury trial.

Tony Buzbee represents the plaintiffs

“For those who have inquired, the Buzbee Law Firm is the lead attorney for the two women who brought this case,” the Buzbee Firm said on its Instagram page Monday. “We filed the case on Friday, but prior to that filing we attempted, unsuccessfully, to resolve this matter without the need for a trial.

“Our resolution efforts have been met with arrogance, ignorance and stupidity, which is strikingly similar to the reaction of Deshaun Watson's team when we attempted to resolve these cases before the filing The allegations made in this lawsuit are very serious. We made sure to fully examine them and speak to the witnesses before even taking the files.

“We will pursue this matter with the same tenacity that we are known for. It's a shame that this type of behavior still occurs. It happens far too often. These women were just trying to do their jobs!”

The Jaguars are named in the lawsuit. And if Buzbee was indeed in contact with the organization before filing the complaint, how come Pederson had to learn about it in the media?

He was both on the flights and ultimately in charge of the players on this trip.

Didn't someone within the organization think to inform the coach that there were allegations of misconduct against a former player while he was on the roster?

Performance, reasons why McManus is out

About that: McManus saw his contract expire after the 2023 season and the Jaguars opted not to re-sign him. But the allegations surrounding the incident apparently had nothing to do with that decision.

“I think there are several reasons,” Pederson said. “First, performance. In this business, whether it's a coach or a player, everything is performance-oriented, right?

“Then you start talking about contracts and the amount of contracts and the number, the dollars and cents that go into it, the age of the player. A lot of things can come into play.

“The fact that it's a key position, it's critical, it's valuable because it either gives us, as a team, points on the scoreboard or not. Then, if we have the opportunity to recruit someone, eagerly, so we take advantage of it So I think there are several factors, not only in this case, in Brandon's case, but I think it's the same for any. what position we are considering.”

So to confirm, Pederson says McManus basically wasn't re-signed for performance and salary cap reasons. And the flight attendants' allegations had nothing to do with it, because neither he nor anyone on the Jaguars knew about it.

“None of that, no,” Pederson said.

A huge plane but what about supervision

Anyone might wonder how an incident could have happened on a plane between a player and someone else and the coach was not informed. Well, the Jaguars chartered an Atlas Air jetliner. And these are usually huge.

So it's conceivable that coaches, staff and players won't be seated next to each other.

“We sit down and want to make sure the players are together, the coaches are together and the staff is together,” Pederson said. “Everyone is comfortable and has space.”

The different groups are apparently so separated that the atmosphere in one cabin may not resemble that of another. The lawsuit alleges that at least one section was immersed in a party atmosphere and lacked supervision — the latter point is something Pederson may have just confirmed to the plaintiffs.

“I mean, a typical flight doesn’t go like that,” Pederson said. “It's a business trip. It's a business trip. This is how we approach it from an organizational standpoint, from a league standpoint. For that, when I read This, this part is disappointing.”