The NFL will be interviewing some players who were linked to performance enhancing drugs from an Al Jazeera America documentary from late December as reported by USA TODAY Sports’ Tom Pelissero.
NFL Players to be Interviewed Regarding Al Jazeera PED Allegations
According to a letter obtained by Pelissero that was from Adolpho Birch (the NFL’s senior vice president of labor policy and league affairs) to Heather McPhee, (NFL counsel) it was stated that three players will be interviewed on the first day of training camp. Two of the players are Julius Peppers and Clay Matthews who are linebackers for the Green Bay Packers. The third player is linebacker James Harrison from the Pittsburgh Steelers. A former Packers linebacker, Mike Neal, will be interviewed on or before July 22nd as he is a free agent. Peppers, Matthews, and Harrison will be interviewed a little later than Neal, as training camp for the Packers begins July 26, while the Steelers training camp begins July 29.
Perhaps the biggest name in the original Al Jazeera report, former Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, will not be interviewed. Pelissero was told, however, that there is still an investigation going on with Manning. Manning has been asked about his connection to the allegations on multiple occasions since the documentary was released.
“I know exactly what they’re going to find: a big fat nothing”, Manning told reporters during Super Bowl media day. “I respect the rules and regulations of the NFL. They’re important to me. It’s been completely fabricated what that story alleged that I did. Complete junk. That’s what I have to say about it.”
The Al Jazeera documentary called The Dark Side: The Secret World of Sports Doping included allegations made by Charles Sly. Sly also mentioned MLB players Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies and Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals. Sly, who was an intern for an anti-aging clinic, recanted his allegations. However, the NFL has decided to investigate nonetheless.
