Peyton Manning fights back against Al Jazeera HGH report

“The NFL found no credible evidence that Pittsburgh’s James Harrison and Green Bay’s Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers were provided with or used substances prohibited under the NFL-NFLPA Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances following a comprehensive investigation into allegations made in a documentary by Al-Jazeera America, it was announced today,” the league’s statement read.

All four players agreed to be interviewed in August after the NFL informed them they would be suspended if they didn’t cooperate with its inquiry. The league sent a letter to the NFL Players Association on Aug. 15, saying commissioner Roger Goodell would invoke Article 46 of the collective bargaining agreement and deem their conduct to be detrimental.

Manning was one of many prominent athletes named in an Al Jazeera documentary called “The Dark Side: The Secret World of Sports Doping.” In it, the quarterback was accused by pharmacist Charlie Sly of receiving human growth hormone through an anti-aging clinic and through his wife, Ashley.

Sly’s parents were contacted by private investigators and called 911 in response, according to the report. Sly is the primary source in the documentary and Manning’s people were conducting their own investigation shortly after Al Jazeera started contacting athletes, who would be named in the documentary.

The NFL is conducting a review of the Al Jazeera report that Peyton Manning had human growth hormone delivered to him under his wife’s name in 2011, according to The Associated Press. The league denied reports that it will not join forces with Major League Baseball and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to investigate allegations -- since recanted by a primary source in the report -- of athletes taking performance enhancing drugs.

On Wednesday, league officials told NFL Media insider Ian Rapoport that, while they will not comment on the specifics of the review until it is completed, it is occurring and they are working with MLB and USADA.

In response, Manning said that he will “probably” sue Al Jazeera over the report because “I’m that angry.”

After the report came out, Manning issued a statement denying all allegations.

Peyton Manning hired crisis management expert Ari Fleischer to deal with allegations that he received HGH in 2011 while recovering from neck surgery.

Fleischer, of course, is most famous for his role as the Bush Administration’s Press Secretary from 2001 to 2003, the man who took charge of press conferences as the government tried to sway public support for the war in Iraq. Since his retirement from politics, Fleischer has run a business called Ari Fleischer Sports Communications, helping athletes, teams and sports organizations deal with crises. Some have already noted Fleischer’s helping hand in Manning’s denials of the accusations.