The world is engulfed in conversation about a documentary that will air on Al Jazeera America after the Huffington Post released information about it on Saturday. In the documentary, The Dark Side, an Austin, Texas pharmacist named Charlie Sly claims that Peyton Manning took Human Growth Hormone following his neck surgery in 2011.
The Denver Broncos have already released a statement on behalf of Peyton Manning to many of the nations top news outlets. “The allegation that I would do something like that is complete garbage and is totally made up,” the statement says. “It never happened. Never. I really can’t believe somebody would put something like this on the air. Whoever said this is making stuff up.”
In quotes obtained by ESPN, Manning added, “Yes, I have been a patient under Dr. Guyer. I have had nutrient therapy, oxygen therapy and other treatments that are holistic in nature but never HGH. My wife (Ashley) has never provided any medication for me to take. Ashley and I never attended the clinic together after hours. There were times when I went in the morning and there were times when I went after practice so this thing about `after hours’ is so misleading because it may have been 5:15 pm because their office closed at 5:00.”
This documentary was done by a British hurdler named Liam Collins as a special report for Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit. According to the Huffington Post, this report will air on Sunday.
It’s important to note that in 2011, HGH was considered a “Banned substance” by the NFL but the league and the NFL Players Association did not have an agreement in place on the testing procedure.
Peyton Manning was released from the Indianapolis Colts after four neck surgeries before resurrecting his career in Denver in 2012. Since joining the Broncos,Manning has thrown for 17,043 yards, 140 touchdowns and only 53 interceptions in one of the NFL’s all-time great comeback stories.
