Last week Al Jazeera released a documentary titled "The Dark Side," which reported the use of human growth hormone among professional athletes, most notably Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and former MLB All-Stars Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard and Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman.
All three of those players denied the accusations and Howard and Zimmerman went as far as filing defamation suits against Al Jazeera this week.
"In the lawsuits filed Tuesday, Zimmerman and Howard claim the Al Jazeera America report on sports doping, titled 'The Dark Side,' contained false statements and was inaccurate, unsubstantiated and reckless in nature," ESPN reported.
"The amount of the general and punitive damages sought by both Zimmerman and Howard will be determined at trial, but both lawsuits state that the financial impact of the report on the players 'will be in the millions of dollars.'"
Both players were accused of using a hormone supplement called "Delta 2," which, Al Jazeera reported, is not detected by the current drug testing system administered in the major sports leagues. However, the credibility of undercover investigation, led by former British hurdler Liam Collins, has been put into question. Charlie Sly, the man who interned for the Indianapolis anti-aging clinic that Collins spoke with, recanted his statements in which he accused the aforementioned players of taking banned substances.
"Any recordings of me were made without my knowledge or consent," Sly said on YouTube. "The statements ... are absolutely false and incorrect."
As a result, Howard and Zimmerman are looking for justice after apparently being slandered in the mainstream media.
Both players released statements on the matter.
Howard said the new outlet's "irresponsible reporting forced me to take this action to protect my name and to fight back against the spreading of these lies."
Zimmerman added, "I have always taken pride in my personal conduct. While I am not a litigious person, I felt it was necessary to file this suit to restore my reputation and to hold Al Jazeera accountable for its actions."
