The Al Jazeera-produced documentary "The Dark Side," which airs Sunday night, most notably alleges that Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning received HGH from an Indianapolis-based anti-aging clinic (Manning has since denied these allegations). In the same report, Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard and Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman are also linked to the same clinic.
There's a wrinkle, though, as one of the key sources in the documentary, former pharmacist Charlie Sly, has in essence recanted what he told Al Jazeera. Here's this from ESPN.com:
Sly said he was "testing" Al Jazeera's undercover reporter by dropping "names like Peyton Manning, Derek Jeter, Ryan Howard and James Harrison." He said none were clients. While Manning, Howard and Harrison were mentioned in Al Jazeera's HGH investigation, Jeter was not.
"When I realized Al Jazeera was using a secret taping and Collins as a so-called investigative reporter, I was baffled," Sly said. "I cannot believe that can happen. That's why I recanted the story. It wasn't true, and I was trying to pull one over on [hurlder and Al Jazeera reporter Liam] Collins to see if he had any idea of what he was talking about.
"I was trying to determine whether this guy [Collins] was legitimate or just trying to steal some knowledge about the business."
Via Huffington Post, here's a look at the full report:
Starting at the 29:04 mark you'll find undercover footage in which veteran catcher Taylor Teagarden appears to admit to using banned substances in the recent past. Even if Sly's recanted allegations don't stick to Howard and Zimmerman, Teagarden may have given MLB grounds for disciplinary action. Here's what Teagarden says in the video:
“I used it last year, I was very ... I was scared to be honest with you,” Teagarden said. “I took it for like two weeks and I had a test four weeks after my last administration of it. Nothing happened ... And I was also taking peptides too but they were all urine tests, no blood tests ... Once a year, maybe twice at most.”
On Sunday, the attorney for Howard and Zimmerman released the following statement to MLB Trade Rumors:
“It’s inexcusable and irresponsible that Al Jazeera would provide a platform and broadcast outright lies about Mr. Howard and Mr. Zimmerman. The extraordinarily reckless claims made against our clients in this report are completely false and rely on a source who has already recanted his claims. We will go to court to hold Al Jazeera and other responsible parties accountable for smearing our clients’ good names.”
Howard, 36, is in the final year of a five-year, $125 million contract with the Phillies. Zimmerman, 31, is entering the eighth year of an 11-year, $135 million deal with the Nationals.
