Two women filed a lawsuit Friday night against kicker Brandon McManus and the Jacksonville Jaguars, alleging McManus sexually assaulted them on a team flight, according to a report from ESPN.

The women — named Jane Doe I and Jane Doe II in the lawsuit — filed the petition Friday in Duval County Circuit Civil Court, accusing McManus of grinding against them while serving the team on an international flight to London. They also alleged the Jaguars failed to supervise McManus and create a safe environment for staff on the flight, per the report.

The women are seeking more than $1 million and have demanded a jury trial, per ESPN’s report.

An online record of the lawsuit has not been made available on the Duval County Circuit Civil Court’s website as of 4 p.m. ET on Monday.

Jacksonville did not re-sign McManus this offseason, and he signed a one-year, $3.6 million deal with the Washington Commanders in March.

The Jaguars declined to comment when contacted by The Athletic. A spokesperson for the Commanders said the team became aware of the lawsuit earlier Monday.

“We take allegations of this nature very seriously and are looking into the matter,” the spokesperson said in a statement to The Athletic. “We have been in communication with the League Office and Brandon’s…

NFL team owners collect millions in revenue. They wield outsized power over their organizations and in their communities. They point to the bottom line, wins and losses, when firing coaches and executives, sometimes without giving them much time. But their own won-lost records appear nowhere.

Even people who follow the NFL closely might not know whether Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross owns a better record than New York Giants owner John Mara (he does).

They might not know whether female owners account for two of the five highest winning percentages since taking over their teams (they do).

They might not know that the only team without a traditional owner could lose 200 games overnight without dipping below .500 (the Green Bay Packers could).

They might not know that five of the last six owners to buy (rather than inherit) a team make up the bottom five in win percentage (they do — the lone exception is the Buffalo Bills’ Terry Pegula).

Some of these ownership situations are difficult to evaluate for reasons such as owners allowing their offspring to operate their teams. I’ve used simple criteria in ranking owners from worst to best win rates below. For our purposes, wins and losses are counted for owners after the NFL has approved their purchases; after an owner…

Scrolling through Julie Cousins’ Instagram this week was a heartbreaking experience. The wife of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins shared the emotional aftermath of the 35-year-old’s season-ending Achilles tendon tear suffered Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. On Monday, dozens of cards made out of construction paper were stacked up on their kitchen counter. Their sons’ classmates scribbled with crayons the words “feel better” along with drawings of rainbows, hearts and clouds.

No card posted had the words Vikings or SKOL. Yes, Cousins is the quarterback of the Vikings and one of the most famous people in the state, but he’s also just Turner and Cooper’s dad. The next day, Julie posted a picture from their patient room at the Twin Cities Orthopedic office where Cousins was getting his surgery. The window faced a player meeting room at the Vikings facility, which is less than 30 yards away. They could clearly see Cousins’ teammates sitting in chairs, looking at a big screen with film of the Falcons as they prepared for their game against Atlanta. Cousins wasn’t technically with the team, but he was close by.

Cousins is out for the season and will be a free agent in 2024. Though his future is unclear, conversations I’ve had with sources over the…

“It was glorious.”

Melanie Coburn’s ride pulled up to the party that most feared would never come. Hundreds of jubilant fans clad in burgundy and gold cheered and alternated chants of “F— Dan Snyder” and “Thank you, Josh.” In the crowd, she saw a familiar face.

It was Mark Ein, a D.C. businessman with whom Coburn once worked and who had just become a limited partner of the Washington Commanders, after his childhood friend Josh Harris bought the team for a North American record $6.05 billion. Coburn “beelined” for Ein and hugged him, surrendering her emotions to the moment.

“I started bawling, and he was choked up,” she told The Athletic. “It was so nice.”

At that moment, Coburn experienced something that NFC East rivals became accustomed to during 24 years of facing Snyder’s team: victory.

It was a celebration that began one day earlier for Coburn and dozens of fellow ex-employees. On July 20, inside a conference room at a JW Marriott outside Minneapolis, NFL owners unanimously approved Harris’ purchase of the team from Snyder. Then the league released the findings from Mary Jo White’s investigation, corroborating allegations against Snyder, and fined the outgoing owner $60 million.

GO DEEPER

Aldridge: Three decades later, Commanders fans, and a…

A local D.C. sports radio host was fired after making disparaging remarks about a female TV anchor during a broadcast at Commanders training camp Thursday, according to multiple reports.

Michael Sorce, who goes by the radio name Don Geronimo, referred to WUSA-TV’s Sharla McBride as “Barbie girl” and “that chick,” and also said, “I’m guessing she’s a cheerleader.” Geronimo made the comments on his radio show on WBIG-FM, the radio partner of the Washington Commanders on the iHeartMedia network.

“After an internal review, Don Geronimo is no longer an employee of WBIG,” iHeartMedia’s D.C. Region president Aaron Hyland said in a statement to the Washington Post. “We take matters of this nature very seriously and this behavior does not align with our core values.”

“When I heard the comments made about me on the radio show, I felt incredibly insulted and embarrassed,” McBride said in a statement to The Athletic. “In my 17 years as a professional journalist, I have never been disrespected in such a blatant manner while trying to do my job. Their words were sexist and misogynistic. No woman should experience this in the workplace, and I appreciate the Commanders swift response in handling this matter.”

Geronimo and his producer, Crash Young, were also…

ASHBURN, Va. — Fifty words.

That’s the total length of a statement issued that countless Washington Commanders fan base members never thought they would witness.

Statement from Commanders Co-Owners Tanya and Dan Snyder pic.twitter.com/uW8UTOgfsU

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) May 12, 2023

Skepticism ran strong across the national capital area, even after the owner they’ve been shackled to since 1999 announced in November that he and his wife would explore “potential transactions” with the franchise. That presumably meant selling.

Team president Jason Wright affirmed in March that his bosses had an exit plan. On April 13 came news of an agreement in principle for $6.05 billion, a record price for any North American sports franchise, led by investor Josh Harris. Countless significant and incremental news reports further shaded in the expectation of a sale. Still, nobody popped champagne, not yet.

Understandable, of course, based on this owner’s record for pettiness and unpredictability. That’s why former season ticket holders in Olney and Alexandria remained apprehensive he would go the distance. Same with ex-burgundy and gold diehards in Bethesda, lifers in Capitol Hill and scores of 35-and-unders across the region who missed the Super Bowl-winning era.

That…

Attorneys for more than 40 former Commanders employees have asked NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to add a provision to the pending sale of the franchise that would bar current owner Daniel Snyder from suing accusers who participated in the several misconduct investigations surrounding Snyder and the organization. The Washington Post was the first to report this story. Here’s what you need to know:

• A group led by Josh Harris has agreed to purchase the franchise for $6.05 billion and the bid has been sent to the NFL.
• In the letter sent to Goodell, attorneys asked that the provision be added as a condition of the sale.
• Attorneys say this is a concern for their clients “given Mr. Snyder’s well-earned reputation for being vindictive and litigious.”
• The proposed deal already includes language to partly indemnify Snyder for future litigation stemming from the many pending investigations into his tenure, a person close to Harris told The Athletic.

What the letter says

“Although we are confident that any such litigation by Mr. Snyder would be meritless — as the women and men involved in the investigations did nothing more than accurately and honestly share their experiences working for the team — the emotional, financial and professional toll on these individuals to…

The Josh Harris-led group seeking to buy the Washington Commanders forwarded a proposed $6.05 billion purchase of the team to the NFL that includes language to partly indemnify outgoing owner Dan Snyder for future litigation stemming from the many pending investigations into his tenure, according to a person close to Harris.

The provision would partially protect Snyder from legal liability based on the outcomes of the probes.

Sportico first reported the bid had been forwarded to the NFL. The move is quite unusual as sales agreements typically only get sent to the league by the selling team once an agreement is signed.

What to know about where things stand

The person close to Harris said there are some issues that need approval from the league, like indemnification, before the contract can be signed and that is why it was forwarded to the NFL.

• The indemnification provision would be between Harris and Snyder, not the league. Snyder has been seeking that cover from both the buyer and the league.
• Why the Harris group needs the league’s approval is unclear, but it’s been widely reported Snyder has not been communicating with the league.
• The developments emerge as the league awaits the Mary Jo White report on investigations into whether Snyder harassed a female employee, and if the…

PHOENIX — Ron Rivera and Jason Wright are unique in this regard: They are among the very, very few people who speak to and speak publicly about Dan Snyder.

Their conversations with the Washington Commanders owner stem from their jobs as head coach and team president. That experience has provided Rivera and Wright insight into the embattled Snyder. They are also the main principles often tasked with answering (often challenging) questions or defending the reclusive owner.

With the franchise sale expected and perhaps soon, they won’t be in that position for much longer. But while they are, I wanted to ask Rivera and Wright one more. Besides, who knows when we’ll hear from Snyder again — if ever — while he owns the team. His wife, co-CEO Tanya Snyder, continues to represent the Commanders at league meetings but did not make herself available to the media last week in Phoenix.

GO DEEPER

How Ron Rivera is coping with the Commanders’ impending change

Late last year, the Snyders began exploring a sale of the franchise he’s owned since 1999. A franchise that has gone from being one of the NFL’s crown jewel franchises to a national punchline. Washington last won a playoff game in January 2006 and ranked last in attendance during the 2022 season.

Whomever the new owners will…

Ron Rivera has spent most of his adult life working within the NFL universe. The last three-plus years as the Washington franchise’s frontman probably aged him the most. No wonder Rivera is unfazed navigating a pivotal roster-building offseason with a looming ownership change.

“Par for the course,” Rivera said.

That is hardly the case, of course. Owner Daniel Snyder selling the franchise he’s owned for 24 turbulent years, now the primary assumption, would top those other moments like Secretariat dominating the Triple Crown field. Momentum has built since Snyder and his co-owner, wife Tanya, announced Nov. 2 they would “consider potential transactions.” Now the finish line is within sight, and with it, a re-evaluation of the entire program.

That includes Rivera.

Two groups fronted by businessman and investor Josh Harris and Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos officially submitted bids to purchase the Commanders, people briefed on the negotiations confirmed to The Athletic on Tuesday. Both proposals are roughly $6 billion, ESPN reported. The bids are the first formal offers known publicly. Any official sale agreement would eventually require a yes vote of 24 of the 31 NFL owners to approve.

Who doesn’t love the smell of $6 billion bids in the morning?…