Viewers can watch the Peyton Manning HGH documentary online, with streaming video available of Al Jazeera’s documentary The Dark Side accusing the Denver Broncos quarterback of using performance-enhancing drugs.
The documentary has been making waves since being released this weekend, accusing Manning and a number of other big-name athletes of using human growth hormone at an anti-aging clinic in Indianapolis. A source told the news outlet that Manning used the banned substance after his 2011 neck surgery.
The documentary used Liam Collins, a 37-year-old British hurdler, to conduct research. Working for Al Jazeera’s investigative unit, he spent six months working undercover in the world of performance enhancing drugs, talking to both the athletes who use the drugs and the medical professionals who supply it.
“For me, it was an opportunity to be the guy, to go undercover, and make a change,” Collins told Al Jazeera .
The report added the following.
“At 37, he competes as a hurdler at an international level. For the investigation he claimed that he was making one last push for the Rio Olympics and was willing to do ‘whatever it takes’ to get there.”
“The investigation has exposed the crucial role of pharmacists and doctors in creating and prescribing programs of performance enhancing drugs designed to cheat the testing system.”
Those who watch the Peyton Manning HGH documentary online will see Charlie Sly, who worked at the clinic in question, claim that performance enhancing drugs were shipped to the Manning home in 2011, arriving under the name of Peyton’s wife.
Manning strongly denies the claim.
“Disgusted is how I feel, sickened,” he told ESPN on Sunday (via Reuters ). “In 2011, when I more or less had a broken neck, four neck surgeries, I busted my butt to get healthy. I saw a lot of doctors.”
Peyton Manning even admitted to visiting the Guyer Clinic, where he received a number of treatments, but said he did not take HGH.
“Everything was under Colts’ authorization,” he said. “Time ended up being probably my best medicine, along with a lot of hard work.”
Peyton Manning is not the only one accused of taking banned substances. The documentary identifies a number of other players, including New York Jets tight end Dustin Keller.
The Peyton Manning documentary is already stirring up plenty of controversy. Aside from Manning’s denial of ever using HGH, the main source cited in the report also appears to be walking back his claims.
The Washington Times reported that Charlie Sly, the source of the HGH claims, said that Al Jazeera’s Liam Collins made the recordings without his consent.
“The statements on any recordings or any communications that Al-Jazeera plans to air are absolutely false and incorrect,” Mr. Sly said on YouTube. “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 statements recordings or communications be aired.”
The NFL moved to ban HGH in the collective bargaining agreement signed in 2011. But it took the league three more years before it began testing for the substance, and no player has yet to test positive.
It’s likely that there is more controversy ahead for the Peyton Manning documentary. The quarterback hinted that he may be suing the news outlet, though has not taken any specific measures. What he has done is hire Ari Fleischer, the former White House press secretary, to head up his public relations effort. This suggests that Manning is planning to go on the offensive regarding the allegations.
The Peyton Manning documentary, The Dark Side , can be seen here.
[Picture by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images]