Ryan Zimmerman and Ryan Howard were among a group of current and former professional athletes tied to performance-enhancing drugs in a documentary aired on Al Jazeera America last Sunday -- the same documentary that linked Peyton Manning to HGH.
Manning has vehemently denied the claims. And now Zimmerman and Howard are taking legal action against the documentary’s creators, per Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.
“Today I authorized my attorneys to file suit against Al Jazeera and its reporters,” Howard said Tuesday in a statement. “Their irresponsible reporting forced me to take this action to protect my name and to fight back against the spreading of these lies. I will have no further comment, as the filing itself contains all I need to say.”
“All of these statements concerning Mr. Zimmerman are categorically untrue,” reads the suit filed Monday for Zimmerman. “Mr. Zimmerman has never taken Delta 2, human growth hormone, or any other steroid or other performance-enhancing substance banned by the MLB.”
Major League Baseball is conducting a thorough investigation into the allegations.
Howard is owed $25 million from the Phillies in 2016 with a $10 million buyout for 2017. Zimmerman has four years and $60 million remaining on his contract with the Nationals.