The NFL supposedly planned to show up on the first day of training camp in Green Bay and Pittsburgh to interview Packers linebacker Clay Matthews, Packers linebacker Julius Peppers, and Steelers linebacker James Harrison in response to allegations from an Al Jazeera documentary that they used PEDs. Training camp started for both teams more than two weeks ago, and no interviews have occurred.
The delay isn’t a surprise. The NFL Players Association has repeatedly insisted on “credible evidence” before it will allow the players to be interviewed. (The labor deal and the PED policy suggest that there’s no obligation to speak at all until after discipline is imposed and appeal rights are invoked.) The NFL hasn’t produced any evidence for inspection by the union, possibly because the NFL has no evidence beyond the recanted claims of Charles Sly, a former employee/intern/whatever at the Guyer Institute who pointed a finger at the players at a time when he didn’t realize he was being recorded.
If Sly’s contentions were deemed to be not credible regarding retired quarterback Peyton Manning, how can they be credible for anyone else? Credibility isn’t partial. Maybe the NFL has realized that, and maybe the NFL has decided to just do nothing and hope that no one notices.