A Fresno Unified spokesperson said Manning's contract ended in November and now the position is being posted as a vacancy. But all of this comes as we get new details about the results of a Fresno Police Investigation.
That investigation began on January 22, when a school resource officer at Edison alerted investigators to allegations involving inappropriate text messages between Manning and a 16 year old student. "I reviewed those text messages and I would say they were inappropriate text messages between a student and a school staff member," said Sgt. Nina Jacobs with the Fresno Police Department.
We're told the police department investigation wrapped up last week. At that point, investigators submitted a case involving a misdemeanor to the district attorney's office. "The district attorney's office did not file charges in this case, and we learned that late last week," said Sgt. Jacobs.
The new information contradicts an earlier press release from January 22, when Fresno Unified said, "The Fresno Police Department recently conducted a criminal investigation and found no criminal misconduct."
Wednesday, a Fresno Unified spokesperson told Action News that statement was based on information the district had received from police at that time. In another statement issued Wednesday, the district said, "The Edison High School head varsity football coach position will be posted as a vacancy. Fresno Unified School District coaching positions are short term and decisions on coaching assignments are made annually."
This afternoon, Action News spoke to Manning, who denied any wrongdoing. He said the text messages exchanged with the student were misinterpreted. Though he feels exonerated by the D.A.'s decision not to press charges, he's upset he never got the chance to give his side of the story to school administrators. Manning also said he is and always will be a Tiger.
