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In case you haven't noticed from my Jameis Winston posts, I generally give the benefit of the doubt to accusers in rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment charges. But then there's the lawsuit filed by an apparently anonymous woman accusing Johnny Manziel of sexual harassment and -- well, even if you just look at the [WARNING; VERY GRAPHIC] filing, it comes across as a bit hard to believe. (ht: @SportsBizMiss)
It is a real lawsuit, in the sense that it was actually filed, vouched for by some reporting and my own eyes; as a reporter, I've seen more than my fair share of federal court filings, and the administrative markings on it appear genuine. Here's one of the more bizarre allegations that I feel comfortable publishing on the blog [errors are sic]:
Defendant keeps asking me to strip for him at his boy, Lebron James' crip in Miami. Johnny Manziel also told me he does steroids and lifts weights, and if another man ever talks to me, he would beat them up and get away with it because he's famous.
So, strange, but given all the "character" issues that Manziel has encountered, you might still be skeptical about writing this off. Never fear -- there is investigative reporting out there.
A few things to know on this Manziel lawsuit: Per Court clerk, the filer is a “frequent filer” & Samantha Schacher is an alias. (1/2)
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 23, 2014
On the Manziel lawsuit: The address used by “Schacher” is actually 190 Marietta St. N.W. in Atlanta. Aka, CNN’s main address.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 23, 2014
Apparently false claims like this are horrible on two counts: First, there's the potential damage to Manziel's reputation, though that doesn't appear to be a problem among people who have actually read the lawsuit, given its contents; and second, because this makes it that much harder for women who actually have been harassed or assaulted to step forward and be heard.
In any case, carry on with your day. Johnny Manziel likely has not been doing odd things with a hot dog bun. Well, we don't know that, but Manziel has likely not been doing these odd things with a hot dog bun