Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said not only did they rely on the NFL’s investigation and also their own research into the accusations against Brandon McManus, but he needed to hear it from the kicker himself before they signed him last night.
October 16, 2024
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said not only did they rely on the NFL’s investigation and also their own research into the accusations against Brandon McManus, but he needed to hear it from the kicker himself before they signed him last night.
15 comments
Best we can hope for I suppose. I’m happy we have a better kicker but I’m still not entirely comfortable with the situation. You’re innocent until proven guilt after all, even if that doesn’t set my mind at ease.
I mean, hearing it from the man himself? Wouldn’t it make more sense to hear it from the accused?
It’s not like McManus is gonna rock up and be like “yeahhh you know how women can be amirite?”.
I’m clueless as to what sort of research the packers could do on their own other than questioning the accused. Perhaps the other Jags players?
Don’t think the NFL investigation would speak to much as it’d be bad for the NFL that represents all 32 teams to find him guilty of any wrongdoing when he’s being sued along side the Jacksonville Jaguars organisation. I’d imagine that would hurt their own case?
There’s nothing we can do as fans about the situation. We literally can’t judge him based on the information (or lack there of) available to us. If the situation changes and more evidence/information comes to light, then I’ll change my stance. Until then, he’s an innocent man and should be able to play football.
lol this is what the browns said when they signed watson too. im not gonna sit here and act like what mcmanus is accused of doing is even close to being as bad as watson, but whether hes guilty or innocent his answer will be the same.
If that Bills kicker taught us anything, it’s we should absolutely hold off judgement until all the facts are out. If he’s guilty, let him hang. If not, let him kick.
“How did you keep a boner that whole time while drunk?”
Uffda! I totally understand Guteys drive to win and improve PK position but holy hell this doesnt pass the smell test.
We’re the packers not the browns Gutey!
Hope this can be resolved and the women appropriately given their day in court.
This is a stupid statement. “The NFL couldn’t prove the claims. We looked into it and couldn’t prove the claims. But what really mattered the most was that Brandon looked me in the eye and said ‘bitches be lying.’”
His denial is the least important thing. I can appreciate that they feel okay after their own review but I sincerely doubt he was going to admit to it.
ETA: Go ahead and downvote me but if you do, please explain to me why you think this guy’s denial is more important than the findings of an investigation.
The women stand to gain more financially if McManus had a job
Let’s all be real here. If he kicks good none of us are really gonna care. Maybe you won’t love the guy, but you’ll be much happier with the team overall.
You can act all pissy about it, but I’m happy af we (seemingly) significantly improved our main weakness
Not gonna lie i have no idea what happened
I mean let’s also be really real about what he was accused of. Attempting to kiss a flight attendant, and dancing/grinding on her while she was serving food. Inappropriate behavior? Absolutely. Something that has natural consequences from which he could learn? Undoubtedly, he lost his job. I got fired from a job 15 years ago for slapping my coworker/girlfriend’s ass. Dumb, but it taught me an important lesson and I’ve never done something like that again and go out of my way to avoid situations that could ever be interpreted as harassment. Maybe he’s the same way.
This situation is obviously very different in the details and severity from the Deshaun Watson case, however Gute’s comments do remind of what the Browns were saying when they made that decision.
The reality is that actual due diligence and talking yourself into a course of action might sound very similar when being described to the public. Clearly they overlooked McManus as an option for months, so it’s telling that they are suddenly willing to give him a try now that the season is underway, the division is ultra competitive, and they’re desperate not to lose any more close games.
The “our own research” here is doing a lot of heavy lifting, but the subtext is that the accused strongly denying something is all that matters. Gute apparently weighing McManus’s word and looking him in the eye to determine credibility sure sounds a lot like a good ol boys club where a “man’s word” is infallible, as though someone who had millions on the line could never lie. McManus may well not have done anything illegal, but the fact that he even put himself in this position shows poor judgement and a potential for other issues to arise. Bad judgement is usually not an isolated thing. What happens if more stories start to come out?
If nothing happened on that flight, other players would be all over it in his defense, so it’s concerning that that hasn’t happened.
The bottom line is that Gute is gambling that this will blow over and that McManus won’t have future issues or that worse behavior won’t be unearthed.
Overall it is the uncertainty here that feels gross. We don’t know the truth and may not, so why not let some other team take on this risk? Fucking around with problematic players is how you piss off the fans of the league and curse your franchise.
Idk why people are so adamant about him being guilty. We don’t know what happened and until something concrete happened just move forward as if he’s innocent. If something else comes up that proves he’s a piece of shit then cut him.
I don’t wanna downplay SA at all and I hope of there’s “justice” to be served these women get it, but until then I’m not gonna say “get this piece of shit off of the team” because we just don’t know.
15 comments
Best we can hope for I suppose. I’m happy we have a better kicker but I’m still not entirely comfortable with the situation. You’re innocent until proven guilt after all, even if that doesn’t set my mind at ease.
I mean, hearing it from the man himself? Wouldn’t it make more sense to hear it from the accused?
It’s not like McManus is gonna rock up and be like “yeahhh you know how women can be amirite?”.
I’m clueless as to what sort of research the packers could do on their own other than questioning the accused. Perhaps the other Jags players?
Don’t think the NFL investigation would speak to much as it’d be bad for the NFL that represents all 32 teams to find him guilty of any wrongdoing when he’s being sued along side the Jacksonville Jaguars organisation. I’d imagine that would hurt their own case?
There’s nothing we can do as fans about the situation. We literally can’t judge him based on the information (or lack there of) available to us. If the situation changes and more evidence/information comes to light, then I’ll change my stance. Until then, he’s an innocent man and should be able to play football.
lol this is what the browns said when they signed watson too. im not gonna sit here and act like what mcmanus is accused of doing is even close to being as bad as watson, but whether hes guilty or innocent his answer will be the same.
If that Bills kicker taught us anything, it’s we should absolutely hold off judgement until all the facts are out. If he’s guilty, let him hang. If not, let him kick.
“How did you keep a boner that whole time while drunk?”
Uffda! I totally understand Guteys drive to win and improve PK position but holy hell this doesnt pass the smell test.
We’re the packers not the browns Gutey!
Hope this can be resolved and the women appropriately given their day in court.
This is a stupid statement. “The NFL couldn’t prove the claims. We looked into it and couldn’t prove the claims. But what really mattered the most was that Brandon looked me in the eye and said ‘bitches be lying.’”
His denial is the least important thing. I can appreciate that they feel okay after their own review but I sincerely doubt he was going to admit to it.
ETA: Go ahead and downvote me but if you do, please explain to me why you think this guy’s denial is more important than the findings of an investigation.
The women stand to gain more financially if McManus had a job
Let’s all be real here. If he kicks good none of us are really gonna care. Maybe you won’t love the guy, but you’ll be much happier with the team overall.
You can act all pissy about it, but I’m happy af we (seemingly) significantly improved our main weakness
Not gonna lie i have no idea what happened
I mean let’s also be really real about what he was accused of. Attempting to kiss a flight attendant, and dancing/grinding on her while she was serving food. Inappropriate behavior? Absolutely. Something that has natural consequences from which he could learn? Undoubtedly, he lost his job. I got fired from a job 15 years ago for slapping my coworker/girlfriend’s ass. Dumb, but it taught me an important lesson and I’ve never done something like that again and go out of my way to avoid situations that could ever be interpreted as harassment. Maybe he’s the same way.
This situation is obviously very different in the details and severity from the Deshaun Watson case, however Gute’s comments do remind of what the Browns were saying when they made that decision.
The reality is that actual due diligence and talking yourself into a course of action might sound very similar when being described to the public. Clearly they overlooked McManus as an option for months, so it’s telling that they are suddenly willing to give him a try now that the season is underway, the division is ultra competitive, and they’re desperate not to lose any more close games.
The “our own research” here is doing a lot of heavy lifting, but the subtext is that the accused strongly denying something is all that matters. Gute apparently weighing McManus’s word and looking him in the eye to determine credibility sure sounds a lot like a good ol boys club where a “man’s word” is infallible, as though someone who had millions on the line could never lie. McManus may well not have done anything illegal, but the fact that he even put himself in this position shows poor judgement and a potential for other issues to arise. Bad judgement is usually not an isolated thing. What happens if more stories start to come out?
If nothing happened on that flight, other players would be all over it in his defense, so it’s concerning that that hasn’t happened.
The bottom line is that Gute is gambling that this will blow over and that McManus won’t have future issues or that worse behavior won’t be unearthed.
Overall it is the uncertainty here that feels gross. We don’t know the truth and may not, so why not let some other team take on this risk? Fucking around with problematic players is how you piss off the fans of the league and curse your franchise.
Idk why people are so adamant about him being guilty. We don’t know what happened and until something concrete happened just move forward as if he’s innocent. If something else comes up that proves he’s a piece of shit then cut him.
I don’t wanna downplay SA at all and I hope of there’s “justice” to be served these women get it, but until then I’m not gonna say “get this piece of shit off of the team” because we just don’t know.