Report: Ryan Howard Among Pro Sports Stars Who Received PEDs
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The Huffington Post is reporting that a special called "The Dark Side," from Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit, is claiming Phils' first baseman Ryan Howard, among other pro sports stars, like Peyton Manning, received PEDs.
The Huffington Post states: "The report, 'The Dark Side,' is the result of a month's long investigation in which Liam Collins, a British hurdler, went undercover in an attempt to expose the widespread nature of performance-enhancing drugs in global sports. As a cover story, Collins tells medical professionals tied to the trade of performance-enhancing drugs that he is hoping for one last shot at glory at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Manning is just one of many high-profile players the report names and raises questions about. The report airs on Sunday but was shared in advance with The Huffington Post."
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The report says that "Collins connected with Charlie Sly, a pharmacist based in Austin, Texas, who worked at the Guyer Institute, the Indiana-based anti-aging clinic, in 2011."
It further includes Howard, who in the report says that "Sly also names Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard and Washington Nationals infielder Ryan Zimmerman as players who received the drug from him. He also claims in the report he gave drugs to Mike Tyson. Delta-2 is designed to stay ahead of drug tests, Sly explains on video. He tells Collins that he provided the drug to Dustin Keller, a tight end who currently plays for the Miami Dolphins and allegedly used Delta-2 while in college at Purdue University and then before the NFL Combine, according to Sly. (Keller did not respond to Al Jazeera's requests for comment).
"We just used Delta-2 because it wasn't detectable," Sly says. Sly also says that he provided Clay Matthews, Green Bay's Pro Bowl linebacker, with the prescription painkiller Percocet to help him deal with pain before at least one game. He also brags in one undercover video that Matthews texted him in an attempt to obtain Toradol, a powerful painkiller that is banned in many countries but not in the United States.
"Harrison, Zimmerman and Howard all denied using the drugs to the network Neal, Peppers, Matthews and Tyson did not respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment."
In the report, it says that Collins' undercover work including meeting naturopathic physician Brandon Spletzer and pharmacist Chad Robertson, who devised a "cutting edge" drug program for Collins that included up to 10 injections each day. The report claims that Robertson and Spletzer did not respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment. Sly, when pressed by Al Jazeera, backtracked, saying that his claims about supplying the drugs to athletes were "false and incorrect."