Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals and Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies announced Tuesday that the pair would file separate lawsuits against the Al Jazeera news organization citing defamation of character. The lawsuits stem from an undercover Al Jazeera report last month in which a pharmacist Charlie Sly said he supplied the two with Delta 2 , a drug that’s on the MLB banned substances list.
Here are two separate statements from the from the MLBers via theScore.com:
“Mr. Zimmerman has never taken Delta 2, human growth hormone, or any other steroid or other performance-enhancing substance banned by the MLB,” Zimmerman’s lawsuit states.
Howard said that he authorized his attorneys to file suit against the broadcaster in order to preserve his image.
“I authorized my attorneys to file suit against Al Jazeera and its reporters,” Howard said 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.
Zimmerman and Howard may have a case too.
Prior to the Al Jazeera report being released, Sly recanted his statement while Howard and Zimmerman’s attorney William Burck alleges an earlier online report stated that it was HGH and not Delta 2 that was sold to the pair. Both of which are banned by baseball however Burck points to Al Jazeera’s ‘irresponsible reporting’ in the process.
The MLB plans on conducting a full investigation into the matter.
Obviously though this isn’t the first time Al Jazeera has thrown around doping allegations with athletes. Just last month the news organization laid claim that Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was purchasing HGH, something the veteran QB has vehemently denied.
