Peyton Manning's Old Roommate Comes Forward to Claim He Saw Mooning, Was He Unidentified Corroborator in 1996 Report?

According to MMQB, a new witness has come forward after 20 years to say that he was also in the training room on a late February day in 1996 at the University of Tennessee, and witnessed what Peyton Manning did to Jamie (Whited) Naughright.

That witness is Gregory Johnson, a football teammate and former college roommate of Peyton Manning’s at the University of Tennessee. Johnson’s name has never officially come up in any of the previous investigations and lawsuits. However, he says he was present that day and provides the following:

“[cross country runner Malcolm] Saxon walks in, and Peyton was the kind of guy who had to be friendly with everyone; he wanted to include everyone, from his teammates to the cross country guy. He says hey to Saxon and pulls down the back of his shorts, and I saw one butt cheek, and then he pulled his pants up. And Jamie said something like, ‘Aw, you’re an ass.’ Then I left. Thought nothing of it.”

This statement, of course, appears to directly contradict the statement of Malcolm Saxon–the only witness ever previously identified by name besides Manning and Naughright–who initially stated he never referred to it as a mooning, and also testified based on positioning any actions weren’t directed at him.

I think, along with questioning the claimant in this case (and there’s plenty to question), it’s equally fair to consider the point of view of this witness emerging twenty years later, provided to MMQB, as is stated in the piece, through representatives of Manning.

Former roommate. Former teammate. Why is this just now coming to light? The piece suggests that it is in part because Johnson was serving in the military overseas when the lawsuit resurfaced the story in 2003. (““They didn’t really report much about Peyton in the Iraqi Desert Times,” he quips.”)

He did, however, graduate in 1997, and would have been on campus at the time this was a big story with Naughright suing the University and ultimately settling for $300,000.

It’s hard to believe that he wouldn’t have said anything. According to him, though, he did talk to someone.

The only possible reference to a conversation with Johnson, with no names included, is contained in the description of the event. Here’s the relevant part:

“_______ corroborated ________’s account of the event.” That came after whoever authored this document went to Manning’s apartment to talk to him about the complaint. It would certainly seem possible, then, that this individual was Johnson, but without an unredacted version of the document it is impossible to confirm. This document, prepared by the University, also doesn’t reveal that Saxon had provided his account, and doesn’t reveal conflicting testimony, so it’s also hard to stand behind “if it didn’t appear in the Tennessee investigative documents, it didn’t happen.” Still, Manning’s former roommate is standing by him, and it’s a matter of whether you believe that impacts credibility.

At this point, I don’t think there’s enough indication to say what specifically happened twenty years ago, and there are plenty of questions and potential motives on all sides.