Two Major League Baseball stars have sued Al Jazeera for mentioning them in a report on the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs by professional athletes.
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In a statement, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Howard said: “Today I authorised my attorneys to file suit against Al Jazeera and its reporters”. The suits refer to the documentary “The Dark Side: Secrets of Sports Doping”, which Al-Jazeera America broadcast December 27. Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has also said he will “probably” sue the news organization after it claimed he used HGH while recovering from neck surgery in 2011. Zimmerman is seeking punitive and other damages and a court order that Al Jazeera retract false and defamatory statements, according to the court filing. It came on the heels of one filed by Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman over the same Al Jazeera story.
An Al Jazeera spokesperson said the network had no comment on the suit.
“The extraordinarily reckless claims made against our clients in this report are completely false and rely on a source who has already recanted his claims”, William Burck said. Both suits cite communications between representatives for Zimmerman and Howard and Al Jazeera prior to the airing of the documentary.
Since releasing the aforementioned statement, the attorney sent a letter to Al Jazeera demanding a reaction to the lawsuit.
The report that aired on Al Jazeera revolved around claims made by a man associated with a clinic in the Indianapolis area named Charles Sly.
Al Jazeera told CNNMoney the news site would have no immediate comment. Manning called the charge “a freaking joke”. The report also linked several other athletes to HGH and other drugs, including Green Bay Packers linebacker Mike Neal, who allegedly introduced teammates Julius Peppers and others to Sly.
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Speaking to a hidden camera, Sly claims to have worked with Zimmerman during the offseason, and that Zimmerman believes Delta-2 “does its job”.
