In most cases involving allegations of off-field misconduct against a player, the NFL’s job is simple. Find the facts, and if a player violates the Personal Conduct Policy, bring down the hammer.
As it is for New allegations Against former Jaguars (now Chiefs) player Brandon McManus, the NFL is in a delicate place. And since the Jaguars were also being sued for failing to supervise McManus and failing to create a safe environment during the trip to London, the team’s front line of defense would be, ideally, that McManus did nothing wrong. Having the NFL take that position off the table will make it harder for the Jaguars to win in court.
So where does 345 Park Avenue fit in? Downplaying the situation to help Jaguar? Or aggressively investigate/discipline McManus and curse the legal torpedoes?
There’s a great point where the league finds McManus did it in a way that exonerates the Jaguars. It won’t be easy. The effort would be fairly straightforward, if it happened.
It is a common problem for employers facing lawsuits over the alleged misconduct of specific employees. There is a strong temptation to jump around the wagons and deny, deny, deny until the lawsuit is over, because the desire to protect the funds supersedes any policies in place to protect co-workers and third parties from misconduct.