Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is fighting back against new allegations that he took human-growth hormone while recovering from a neck injury in 2011, saying claims he used the banned substance were "complete garbage and ... totally made up."
"All the time, we would be sending Ashley Manning [his wife] drugs. Like growth hormone, all the time, everywhere," former Guyer Institute intern Charlie Sly told Al Jazeera.
The allegations are part of a new Al Jazeera special report about performance-enhancing drugs in athletics. The outlet secretly filmed conversations with Charlie Sly, a former intern at the Indianapolis clinic where Manning recovered from neck surgery.
According to Sly, the clinic sent Manning performance-enhancing drugs like HGH under his wife's name, and the couple would show up at the clinic after-hours for intravenous treatments. Sly has since recanted his story and has denied working at the institute during Manning's treatment. (Video via KMGH)
HGH was officially banned by the NFL in 2011, and no player has tested positive for it since testing began in 2014. Al Jazeera's report also links several other athletes to potential PED use, including Green Bay Packers linebacker Mike Neal and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison.
This video includes images from Getty Images.
