Brandon McManus allegations put the NFL in a delicate situation

In most cases involving allegations of off-field misconduct against a player, the NFL’s mission is simple. Find out the facts, and if the player violated the Personal Conduct Policy, drop the hammer.

About the new allegations against former Jaguars (now Commanders) kicker Brandon McManus, the NFL is in a delicate situation. Since the Jaguars were also sued for failing to supervise McManus and for failing to create a safe environment on the flight to London, the team’s front-line defense will ideally be that McManus did nothing wrong. Having the NFL take this position off the table will make it harder for the Jaguars to win in court.

So what will 345 Park Avenue be? Minimize the situation to help the Jaguares? Or aggressively investigate/discipline McManus and legal torpedoes be damned?

There is a sweet spot where the league finds out that McManus did this in a way that absolves the Jaguars. This won’t be easy. And the effort will be quite obvious if it happens.

It’s a common problem for employers who face lawsuits over alleged misconduct by specific employees. There is a strong temptation to circle around and deny, deny, deny until the process is over because the desire to protect the coffers overrides any policies in place to protect co-workers and third parties from misconduct.