Two Major League Baseball players have filed defamation lawsuits against Al-Jazeera America over statements made in a documentary about performance-enhancing drugs in sports.
Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals and Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies filed the suits Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington. The suits refer to the documentary “The Dark Side: Secrets of Sports Doping,” which Al-Jazeera America broadcast Dec. 27.
The suit alleges that Charles Sly, a pharmacist who appeared in the documentary, made false statements when he said Zimmerman and Howard both took a human growth hormone.
The documentary also suggested that Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning took HGH while recovering from neck surgery. He has slammed the report as “garbage” and suggested he might also sue Al Jazeera over it.
Each suit seeks an unspecified amount in damages.
A spokeswoman for Al-Jazeera America says the network will not comment.
In the documentary, Liam Collins, a British hurdler, went undercover and spoke with Sly, an Austin, Texas-based pharmacist who worked at the Guyer Institute, the Indiana-based anti-aging clinic in 2011. Sly allegedly names Manning and other high profile athletes as having received HGH from the clinic.
However, Sly backtracks in a subsequent statement to Al Jazeera, saying Collins secretly recorded his conversations without his knowledge or consent.
“The statements on any recordings or communications that Al Jazeera plans to air are absolutely false and incorrect,” Sly said. “To be clear, I am recanting any such statements and there is no truth to any statement of mine that Al Jazeera plans to air. Under no circumstances should any of those recordings, statements or communications be aired.”
