In one of the most bizarre sports stories of the month, Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera has accused Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning of using performance-enhancing drugs.
Manning, of course, strongly denies that report.
In an investigative documentary called “The Dark Side,” undercover British hurdler Liam Collins set out to expose the widespread nature of PEDs under the guise that he wanted one last shot at Olympic glory.
During the month-long investigation, Collins talked to Charlie Sly, who claimed that Manning took HGH in 2011 to recover from neck surgery. Sly since has recounted his story publicly, according to ESPN, saying he fabricated it and was not expecting it to become part of a news report.
“It stings me, whoever this guy is, to insinuate that I cut corners, I broke NFL rules in order to get healthy. It’s a joke. It’s a freaking joke,” Manning said Sunday.
The Al Jazeera report contended that the Manning family received shipments of steroids and other drugs under the name Ashley Manning, Peyton’s wife. The report also claims that Manning went to the Guyer Institute in Indianapolis “after hours,” as if to imply suspicious activity.
Manning admitted to being a patient of Dr. Guyer for “nutrient therapy, oxygen therapy and other treatments that are holistic in nature but never HGH.” He also said that any treatment his wife receives is her business, and that his wife has never given him any medication.
The Denver Broncos defended the quarterback Sunday in a statement:
“Knowing Peyton Manning and everything he stands for, the Denver Broncos support him 100 percent. These are false claims made to Al Jazeera, and we don’t believe the report. Peyton is rightfully outraged by the allegations, which he emphatically denied to our organization and which have been publicly renounced by the source who initially provided them.”
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
