Written by Jason La Canfora at CBSSports.com
The legacy of Peyton Manning is becoming a bit more complicated. After decades of near-unanimous adulation, the narrative about the superstar quarterback has become a bit more murky and muddled.
The prism through which his career was viewed, from college until just before HGH allegations emerged in late December, has shifted now, at least for some. Things aren’t quite as crystal clear and pristine as most would have perceived it even a few short months ago.
Whether you view his recent trials and tribulations as errant muckraking aimed to unfairly target a legend on the way out, or perhaps a telling portal into the Manning we didn’t know, is a matter of personal preference at this point. But the fact that it is even a question now, a topic under some widespread consideration by America At Large, is a development in and of itself. It’s become a part of this tale, and the mythology of Manning, at least to some, will never be the same.
The fact that mainstream America is now pondering issues like whether Manning shoved his genitalia on a female trainer’s face when he was a 19-year-old star QB at the University of Tennessee, after years of the alleged incident being largely ignored or unknown, alters the scope of how Manning will be remembered. And whether he used human growth hormone to extend his career in the face of a possible career-ending injury is a matter of considerable debate as well, as Manning is vehemently denying using the substance though not the fact it was shipped to one of his residences in his wife’s name.
These topics are gaining traction at the very time when Manning’s triumph in Super Bowl 50 to win a second ring would normally be dominating the sports chattersphere. Instead the focus has shifted to how much truth there is in these allegations. All of this has entered the ethos of sport’s talk radio — as tainted a headspace as that often is — and it’s fodder for hot takes and, I dare say, that it’s reaching a point where the story of this quarterback won’t be able to be told without either potentially damaging scandal — coming at opposite ends of his career — being mentioned.
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