A reporter involved with the Al Jazeera documentary on doping in sports says that Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was never directly connected to the use of human growth hormone in its hidden-camera investigation.
"The only allegation in the program from Charlie Sly is that growth hormone was sent repeatedly from the (anti-aging clinic) Guyer (Institute) to Ashley Manning in Florida," Al Jazeera reporter Deborah Davies told NBC's *Today* show. "We're not making the allegation against Peyton Manning."
Ashley Manning is Peyton Manning's wife of 14 years. Manning's agent, Tom Condon, did not deny that Ashley -- who gave birth to twins in 2011 -- received supplements, and Manning confirmed he was a patient at the Guyer Institute, where Sly worked. Manning said this week he had "never heard of (Sly) up until this report."
Sly worked as an unpaid intern at the Guyer Institute of Molecular Medicine in Indianapolis for three months in 2013. He later recanted the statements he made during the hidden-camera investigation.
"The allegation that I would do something like that is complete garbage and is totally made up," Manning said in a statement Saturday. "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."
The documentary alleges Ashley Manning received HGH shipments in 2011, the same year Manning was recovering from neck surgery that had threatened to end his legendary NFL career. HGH is a banned in the NFL, which began testing for the substance prior to the 2014 season.
