Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the NFL is still planning to interview Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers and James Harrison before season regarding the PED accusations that stem from the Al-Jazeera report.
The Al-Jazeera documentary also named Peyton Manning, but he has already met with the NFL and been cleared of any wrong doing. The NFL actually released a statement about Manning’s cooperation, which appeared to be an attempt by the league to convince the other players to agree to interviews.
The allegations stem from comments made by former anti-aging clinic intern Charlie Sly, who was taped in the Al-Jazeera documentary. It’s worth mentioning that Sly has since recanted his quotes.
There has been some question about whether the NFL’s PED policy would allow them to conduct an investigation, considering that Sly recanted his statements.
The NFLPA has taken issue with the league’s insistence to interview players regarding the report.
“The NFL has chosen to initiate an investigation of these players based upon now-recanted statements that appeared in an Al Jazeera report. The NFLPA requested from the NFL any additional evidence supporting an investigation of the players; the NFL did not provide any such evidence, nor did they inform the NFLPA or the players that any such evidence exists. Instead, the NFL has decided to publicly pressure the players into submission. We will continue to advise our players about their rights and hold the NFL accountable.”
Should the interviews actually take place, you would have to think they would line something up sooner than later, considering that we’re already a few weeks into the season.
We’ll have more regarding the PED allegations as the news is available.
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