Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman was one of a handful of athletes named in an Al Jazeera undercover report on performance enhancing drug use in sports. The report linked NFL quarterback Peyton Manning as well as Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard and Taylor Teagarden.
Zimmerman and Howard share an attorney, William Burck of Quinn Emanuel, who called the allegations “inexcusable and irresponsible” in a statement to MLB Trade Rumors.
Major League Baseball and the Nationals have also issued statements on the matter. Jon Morosi of FOX Sports had MLB’s comment on Twitter:
“[MLB] was not made aware of the allegations until yesterday and was provided no information other than what has been reported,” MLB says.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 27, 2015
#MLB is aware of @ajam report on sports doping, and league spokesman says, “We intend to conduct a thorough investigation.” @FOXSports
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 27, 2015
The Nationals tweeted their statement:
The Washington Nationals have issued the following statement: pic.twitter.com/IdWdnIFb0i
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) December 27, 2015
The Phillies have yet to release a statement about Howard.