HGH sent to Peyton Manning's home, but lawyers say it wasn't for QB according to report
Peyton Manning’s attorney confirmed human growth hormone shipments were sent to his home in Florida by an Indianapolis clinic, but said they were not intended to be used by him, according to documents filed in federal court.
The HGH was meant for Peyton’s wife, Ashley Manning, who was prescribed the drug for a diagnosed condition that has not been publicly revealed.
The Washington Post recently obtained emails containing Peyton Manning’s explanation for receiving HGH on Dec. 16, 2015. A few weeks prior, an investigative reporter from the Al Jazeera network had emailed Manning’s agent Tom Condon that an unidentified source had alleged that Manning had ordered the HGH under his wife’s name. Condon tried to convince Al Jazeera that its source was lying, according to the Post.
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The Post obtained an email from Manning’s lawyers to Al Jazeera, explaining why Ashley Manning needed an HGH prescription, and revealing her diagnosed condition. Al Jazeera did not publish the name of her condition but did send emails to medical experts, asking if the drug was a legitimate treatment for her condition.
The Post on Monday reported that experts said HGH was not a permitted treatment for Ashley Manning's condition. The Indianapolis clinic that prescribed the medicine, the Guyer Institute, specializes in anti-aging treatment. Using HGH for anti-aging treament would be an illegal use of the drug.
Al Jazeera would later debut its undercover documentary, “The Dark Side: The Secret World of Sports Doping” about the use of performance enhancing drugs in North American sports. The film featured footage from aspiring pharmacist Charlie Sly, who worked at the Guyer Institute. He stated in the documentary that Washington Nationals slugger Ryan Zimmerman and former Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard were taking performance-enhancing drugs. In one part of the movie, Sly implied that Manning ordered HGH under his wife’s name.
The NFL said it had found no evidence that Manning used HGH, and MLB cleared Zimmerman and Howard.
Despite Manning's retirement, the news is still relevant for him today because the documentary is the subject of a defamation lawsuit against Al Jazeera filed by Zimmerman and Howard. A 121-page court filing explains how Al Jazeera produced the film and what its reporters knew about the Mannings and HGH.
Manning didn't sue Al Jazeera, but the network’s lawyers are trying to obtain records from private investigators hired by Manning's lawyers. Those investigators spoke to Sly before the documentary aired, and he recanted his claims about Manning before it aired. Al Jazeera is trying to find out whether the investigators influenced Sly to recant his initial statement implying that the star quarterback ordered drugs under his wife's name.
You can find IndyStar reporter Laken Litman on Twitter: @LakenLitman.
