Summary Of Peyton Manning's Sexual Assault Case

In February of 2016, a story surfaced entailing a lawsuit against the University of Tennessee regarding the school’s inability to properly handle sexual assault cases that involved the university’s student athletes. The story described that six unidentified female accusers had come together to form a lawsuit against the University of Tennessee, to try to combat the wrongdoings of the university in these situations, stating that the school had fostered a “hostile sexual environment and culture” in relation to a number of incidents highlighted by these complainants. In support of their argument, the lawsuit also referenced a sexual assault case, which happened in 1996 involving NFL superstar Peyton Manning, during his time playing football for the university. In 1996 …show more content…
The coverage of this story by media outlets and associated organizations such as the NFL, aimed to lessen the problem and de-dramatize the actions of Manning through the specific framing of the story, or the presentation of alternative stories within the same timeframe to draw focus away from Manning’s past alleged illicit activity. Within CNN’s coverage of the story, there are several features included which aim to bias the reader to have a more positive perception of Manning, and his alleged sexual assault against Naughright. First, after describing that Manning’s case had been used as example of the unsafe environment at the school, the article mentions that following Manning’s incident with Naughright he “would go on to lead the Volunteers to an SEC championship one year later”. Seemingly, the article is aiming to negate any negative perception of Manning during his time at the University of Tennessee through the inclusion of the accolades that he brought the football team and the school one year