MLB Trade Rumors posted a statement from the attorneys for both Ryan Howard and Ryan Zimmerman:
“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.”
Original Report – 12/26
An Indianapolis anti-aging clinic has supplied human growth hormone or other performance enhancing drugs to a number of high-profile sports stars including NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and MLB players Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Howard and Taylor Teagarden, according to an undercover sting operation conducted by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit.
The report which is entitled, “The Dark Side,” is the result of a months long investigation in which Liam Collins, a British hurdler, went undercover in an attempt to expose the widespread nature of performance enhancing drugs in global sports.
The report officially airs on Sunday but was shared in advance this evening with The Huffington Post.
Mark Townsend of Yahoo Sports also reported that Zimmerman, Howard and Teagarden have all denied the allegations, but Al Jazeera reportedly has video and audio evidence to back their claims. It’s not clear if that will be presented during the airing on Sunday.
Neither of the three players have ever tested positive since Major League Baseball implemented expanded testing for human growth hormone during the 2013 season. Still, this could be explosive if they have any of these players on audio/video transacting business or acknowledging usage. Let’s see how it plays out.
(Hat Tip to Sir Octopus)
