Peyton Manning once slammed Al-Jazeera documentary portraying QB's illegal PED use - "Complete garbage"
Peyton Manning is a player who is well-respected by his former teammates and coaches for how he played the game. The NFL legend's reputation was put into question by a documentary by Al-Jazeera. This 2015 Al-Jazeera documentary, titled The Dark Side, claimed that Manning was given a human growth hormone (HGH) in 2011 by pharmacist Charlie Sly.
Sly worked for the anti-aging Guyer Institute in Indiana in 2011. Manning quickly refuted the documentary and denied using any PEDs, saying it was completely made up:
“The allegation that I would do something like that is complete garbage and is totally made up. It never happened. Never. I really can’t believe somebody would put something like this on the air. Who said this is making stuff up.”
The former Indianapolis Colts star was playing for the Denver Broncos at the time of the documentary's release. Denver came out in defense of the seven-time All-Pro in a statement to People Magazine:
“Knowing Peyton Manning and everything he stands for, the Denver Broncos support him 100 percent. These are false claims made to Al Jazeera, and we don’t believe the report.
“Peyton is rightfully outraged by the allegations, which he emphatically denied to our organization and which have been publicly renounced by the source who initially provided them."
The year 2011 was the same year that Manning had neck surgery and the league added HGH testing to its collective bargaining agreement. However, requirements for the testing were not agreed upon until 2014.
In a video, Sly states that the drugs were always shipped to Ashley, Peyton Manning's wife so that his name was never connected to the package. Sly also asserted that the couple would travel to the Guyer Institute after-hours to get intravenous treatments.
Manning has unequivocally denied both of these assertions.
Peyton Manning's time with the Broncos was a personal and team success
The quarterback joined the Broncos ahead of the 2012 season after spending 13 seasons with the Colts. In his first season with Denver, he won the AP Comeback Player of the Year award. He threw for 4,659 yards, 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2012.
March 20, 2012: Peyton Manning is introduced as the new quarterback of the Denver Broncos. https://t.co/mFqEgPODbX
The signal-caller finished second in both the MVP and Offensive Player of the Year award voting that season.
Year 2 in Denver saw him getting the fourth MVP award and the Offensive Player of the Year honor after leading the league with 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns. Both are single-season records in NFL history.
In his final season in 2015, the Broncos won Super Bowl 50, giving Peyton Manning his second Lombardi Trophy.
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