Like Peyton Manning before them, James Harrison, Clay Matthews, and Julius Peppers have officially been cleared of any wrongdoing in and Al-Jazeera America report linking them to HGH use.
The league released a statement, per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, in which it revealed it could not find any “credible evidence” to support the claims.
Here is the full release from the @NFL on clearing the players in the HGH Al-Jazeera America situation pic.twitter.com/QNQ3B40DLH
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 31, 2016
The case of Mike Neal, currently a free agent, is still pending. Though the clearing of these players, plus Manning, does make his chances seem strong.
This is actually a rather uneventful end to a saga that’s been anything but. The players — notably Harrison — were not happy with the NFL’s demands and the schedule of the league. The league eventually threatened the players with suspension if they didn’t interview by August 25.
The initial report sent shock waves through multiple sports, but the credibility of it was quickly damaged, especially when the main source recanted his statements.