Peyton Manning strongly denied a report set to air on al-Jazeera that contends the Denver Broncos quarterback received human growth hormone (HGH) through his wife during his recovery from neck fusion surgeries in 2011 in Indianapolis.
“The allegation that I would do something like that is complete garbage and is totally made up. It never happened. Never,” Manning said in a statement on Saturday night.
“I really can’t believe somebody would put something like this on the air. Whoever said this is making stuff up,” he added.
The allegations surfaced in an al-Jazeera undercover probe into doping in global sports that was set to air yesterday and was shared in advance with the Huffington Post.
The report claims Manning received HGH from an Indianapolis anti-aging clinic in 2011 while he was still with the Colts. It said the drug, which was banned by the NFL in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, was delivered to his wife, Ashley, so that Manning’s name was never attached to the shipments.
Liam Collins, a British hurdler, went undercover and spoke with Charlie Sly, an Austin, Texas-based pharmacist who worked at the Guyer Institute, the Indiana-based anti-aging clinic in 2011. Sly allegedly names Manning and other high profile athletes as having received HGH from the clinic.
However, Sly backtracks in a subsequent statement to al-Jazeera, saying Collins secretly recorded his conversations without his knowledge or consent.
“The statements on any recordings or communications that al-Jazeera plans to air are absolutely false and incorrect,” Sly said.
“To be clear, I am recanting any such statements and there is no truth to any statement of mine that al-Jazeera plans to air. Under no circumstances should any of those recordings, statements or communications be aired,” he added.
The NFL and players union added HGH testing to the collective bargaining agreement signed in 2011, but the side did not agree to testing terms until last year. Nobody has tested positive, which would trigger a four-game suspension.
Manning, who joined the Broncos in 2012, has been sidelined since Nov. 15 by a left foot injury.
Brock Osweiler is to make his sixth consecutive start in Manning’s place today when the Broncos (10-4) host the Bengals (11-3).
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