AFCDenver BroncosNFL News

Peyton Manning sent an apology to a ref after going off on him in a game

The Old Man still has the "Itch" to play, what do you think?
Peyton Manning makes me love him more and more

Peyton Manning is a pretty amazing quarterback, but many say he is a better person.  Just how amazing is he?  Mark Wiedmer of the Chattanooga Free Times interviewed former NFL referee Butch Hannah, who shared an amazing story about Peyton Manning.

“Peyton’s next-to-last year, the Broncos were facing the Dolphins in Denver and the whole game was a struggle for them,” Hannah said. “I called back two Denver touchdowns. But they pulled it out by two or three points (39-36). But late in the game, the clock about to run out, Peyton mistimed a snap and they had to run one more play. Peyton said something off-color to me, which was not at all like him.

“I told him, ‘Peyton, you’re better than that.’”

Manning sent Hannah a FedEx package with a hand written letter:

“He said he wanted to apologize for his reaction to me that day against the Dolphins,” Hannah related. “Would I please accept his apology? That’s the only time that’s happened to me in all my years of officiating.”

Manning never heard back from Hannah, so before a pre-season game, he confronted Hannah to see if he received the package.

“It’s Peyton,” said Hannah, who’s known Manning since both were in the SEC in the mid-1990s. “He asks me, ‘Did you get my card?’ I said, ‘Peyton, you’ve got to let this go.’ He says, ‘You have no idea how upset I was with myself.’ That’s the kind of son Archie and Olivia raised. Pretty impressive.”

I love hearing these kind of stories.  What a great piece, and amazing gesture by the future Hall of Famer.

Damond Talbot

NFL Draft Diamonds was created to assist the underdogs playing the sport. We call them diamonds in the rough. My name is Damond Talbot, I have worked extremely hard to help hundreds of small school players over the past several years, and will continue my mission. We have several contributors on this site, and if they contribute their name and contact will be in the piece above. You can email me at nfldraftdiamonds@gmail.com

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button