Top NFL player accused of sexual assault by two flight attendants aboard London-bound flight

28 May 2024, 19:12 | Updated: 28 May 2024, 19:14

A top NFL player has been accused of sexually assaulting two women aboard a transatlantic flight to London.

The two women, both of whom were flight attendants aboard the plane, accused Brandon McManus of sexual assault during a period of mid-air turbulence.

McManus, who was a kicker for the Jacksonville Jaguars at the time, is accused alongside the team as part of a lawsuit filed on Friday.

According to court documents obtained by ESPN, the two women - who are known only as Jane Doe I and Jane Doe II - accuse the player of rubbing himself up against them.

One of the flight attendants also accused McManus of attempting to kiss her while she was seated during the flight from Jacksonville to London, ahead of a game.

Mr McManus has denied the allegations.

The pair also accuse the Jaguars team of failing to supervise McManus and failing to create a safe environment for staff serving the team.

The Jaguars have since confirmed they are looking into the allegations, with the alleged incident having taken place on September 28, 2023.

McManus no longer plays for the Jaguars, having signed a £2.8million deal with the Washington Commanders in March of this year.

The filing was submitted late on Friday night at Duval County Circuit Civil Court in Florida, but is yet to be made public.

It's alleged the pair are asking for more than $1 million and a jury trial.

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The Jaguars team has said it acknowledges "the significance of the claims".

“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.

McManus' lawyers have since called the lawsuit "an extortion attempt".

"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," McManus' attorney, Brett R. Gallaway, said in a statement Monday night.

"We intend to aggressively defend Brandon's rights and integrity and clear his name by showing what these claims truly are -- an extortion attempt."

The women's attorneys say a resolution was sought prior to the filing, but "our efforts at resolution were met with arrogance, ignorance and stupidity".

They added that the reaction was "strikingly similar to how Deshaun Watson's team responded when we tried to resolve those cases pre-filing."

Fellow player Deshaun Watson is a quarterback for NFL team Cleveland Browns but whose career has been clouded by a string of sexual assault allegations dating back to 2021.