The NFL’s Washington Commanders said Sunday that they’ve released kicker Brandon McManus just days after the athlete was accused of sexual assault.
The move, announced on the social media platform X, came without a stated reason or any background.
McManus faces a civil suit from two women who allege he rubbed himself on them and tried to kiss one of them while they worked as flight attendants on a team-chartered flight last year, when he still played for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Commanders said last week that the team was “looking into the matter.”
Asked Sunday whether his release is related to the allegations of sexual misconduct, Commanders spokesperson Sean DeBarbieri said by email: “We have nothing to add other than our roster move, which stated we released Brandon McManus from the team.”
The filing in Duval County, Florida, court seeks more than $1 million in damages and names as defendants McManus and the Jaguars, his team at the time of the alleged Sept. 28 incident on an Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings flight from Florida to England.
The Jaguars have said they are aware of the claims and are investigating. “It bears emphasizing that we insist on an organization built by people who represent our community and game with the highest character and class,” the team said in a statement to NBC affiliate WTLV of Jacksonville.
An attorney for McManus, Brett R. Gallaway, responded to the suit last week in a statement that called its allegations “demonstrably false.” The suit, Gallaway said, amounted to “an extortion attempt.”
He did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday about his client’s release by the Commanders.
The suit alleges McManus recruited members of the flight crew to join him and some teammates in an impromptu party during the flight that had other attendants “drink and dance inappropriately.” The two women who filed the suit did not participate, it says.
McManus targeted one of the two women repeatedly, “seemingly because she did not want to take part” in the festivities, the filing claims. He tried to kiss her and later grabbed her and rubbed against her so she could feel his erection, the document says.
He also grabbed and rubbed himself against the second plaintiff as she was serving in-flight meals, the suit alleges.
The women suffered mental anguish and “career disruption” as a result of his alleged actions, according to the filing.
The suit alleges assault and sexual assault by McManus, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and gross negligence by the Jaguars. It alleges the team failed to “enforce a zero-tolerance policy related to inappropriate behavior” and failed to maintain a safe environment for workers serving the team.
The plaintiffs want a jury trial.
Gallaway, McManus’ lawyer, said in his statement last week that the claims are false.
“These are absolutely fictitious and demonstrably false allegations made as part of a campaign to defame and disparage a talented and well-respected NFL player,” he said.
The release of McManus leaves the Commanders without a kicker, for now. McManus, who turns 33 in July, started his NFL career with the Denver Broncos in 2014. The Commanders signed him in March.
Dennis Romero
Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
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