Peyton Manning furious over Al-Jazeera reports he used HGH

Peyton Manning said a report by Al-Jazeera set to air Sunday that suggests he used performance-enhancing drugs was "completely fabricated, complete trash, garbage."

Manning angrily denied allegations to ESPN on Sunday morning he used HGH in 2011 when he missed an entire season while recovering from neck fusion surgery.

He denied ever using PEDs and blasted the report for suggesting he got drugs that were shipped to his wife, Ashley.

"I can't speak for any other athlete. I know what I've done, I know how hard I've worked in my 18 years of playing in the NFL. There are no shortcuts in the NFL. I've done it the long way, I've done it the hard way. And to insinuate anything otherwise is a complete and total joke, it's defamation and it really ticks me off," Manning told ESPN.

Broncos and Colts stand by Manning

The Broncos and Colts also issued statements Sunday morning in support of Manning.

"Knowing Peyton Manning and everything he stands for, the Denver Broncos support him 100 per cent," the team said. "These are false claims made to Al-Jazeera, and we don't believe the report."

The statement added that "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 Colts, whom Manning played for from 1998-2011, issued a statement calling the report "utterly ridiculous."

"We are thoroughly familiar with Peyton's tireless work habits, his medical history, and, most importantly, his integrity," the Colts said.

"Peyton played the game in Indianapolis for 14 years the right way. He never took any shortcuts and it would be absurd to suggest he would have taken prohibited performance enhancing drugs.

"We also note that the 'source' of this allegation has since recanted his story. The entire Indianapolis Colts organization and the Irsay family hope this crude effort to besmirch Peyton's reputation will not be permitted to tarnish the legacy of a great Colt."

Manning said he sought holistic treatments such as hyperbaric oxygen and nutrient therapy at the Guyer Institute, an anti-aging clinic in Indianapolis, in 2011 with knowledge and consent of the Colts training and medical staff following his four neck surgeries.

Charles Sly, a former intern at the Guyer Institute, has recanted the claim that Manning used HGH. Sly was surreptitiously recorded by Liam Collins, a British hurdler that Al-Jazeera said went undercover to expose performance-enhancing drug use in sports.

Sly, who also named other high-profile athletes on the secret recordings made by Collins, told Al-Jazeera the statements attributed to him "are absolutely false and incorrect." Sly also told ESPN that he fabricated the allegations to test Collins' legitimacy.

Canadian connection

Chad Robertson, a Canadian pharmacist based in Vancouver, also told Collins he had the ability to make someone a world champion through doping. Robertson and Brandon Spletzer, a naturopath also in Vancouver, reportedly dispensed drugs to Collins. 

The Sage Clinic, based in Vancouver released a statement regarding the alleged involvement of Spletzer:

"Sage Clinic personnel were shocked to learn of a documentary on alleged sports doping implicating naturopathic physician Dr. Brandon Spletzer. Pending completion of a thorough investigation by ourselves and appropriate authorities, Sage Clinic immediately suspended the contract of Dr. Brandon Spletzer and notified the College of Naturopathic Physicians of British Columbia.

"...Sage Clinic doctors and staff had no awareness of alleged sports doping or other wrongdoing occurring on our clinic premises or elsewhere...Professional sports doping could not be any more contrary to the philosophy and vision of our clinic and of the profession of naturopathic medicine...We will cooperate fully with the proper authorities' investigation into this matter and are conducting our own internal investigation..."

Al-Jazeera's report claims Manning received HGH from the Indianapolis anti-aging clinic in 2011 while he was still with the Colts. It said the drug, which was later banned by the NFL in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, was delivered to his wife so that the quarterback's name was never attached to the shipments.

Manning told ESPN he's never taken anything that was ever sent to his wife nor has he ever used PEDs.

"Absolutely not. Absolutely not. And what hurts me the most about this is whoever this guy is, this slapstick trying to insinuate that in 2011, when I more or less had a broken neck — four neck surgeries, I don't know, I'm sure there's a difference in there — but I had a broken neck and I busted my butt to get healthy, put in a lot of hard word. I saw a lot of doctors," Manning said.

"I went to the Guyer Clinic, they had an hyperbaric chamber that the Colts trainers and doctors thought might be good for me. They went with me and thought it might help. I don't know if it helped. It didn't hurt."

Report names multiple professional athletes

The report names other high-profile athletes as having obtained PEDs.

The attorney for Phillies slugger Ryan Howard said his client will fight claims made in the Al-Jazeera report that his client received performance-enhancing drugs.

William Burck of the law firm Quinn Emanuel called the claims made against Howard and Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals "outright lies."

"It's inexcusable and irresponsible that Al-Jazeera would provide a platform and broadcast outright lies about Mr. Howard and Mr. Zimmerman," Burck said in a statement.

"The extraordinary reckless claims made against our clients in this report are completely false and rely on a source who has already recanted his claims. We will go to court to hold Al-Jazeera and other responsible parties accountable for smearing our clients' good names," Burck said.