Peyton Manning Doper?

[lotusland]

Back pedaling about his wife's medical history seems a little shaky to me. Then again if he's using it to heal an injury not a regular regimen to improve performance I'm not even sure I'm opposed to it. Except, of course, that it's apparently against the rules. Someone who knows more about HGH can perhaps shed some light on why we don't want injuries healed that way.

[bjornolf]

Of course, he wasn't even playing in the league at the time, or eligible, as he was on IR. PLUS, the league didn't even test for HGH back in 2011-2012.

[cspan37421]

If taking advantage of some legal medical treatments - while on IR, no chance of playing soon - to get over an injury or surgery is against the rules, the rules ought to be changed. Not to say they should not enforce it against him now, but it is unfortunate if they don't provide safe harbor for certain circumstances. I know that there have been times I've been sick enough to get a steroid injection or prescription of prednisone. I've taken pseudoephedrine for sinus congestion, and all sorts of other OTC things that are probably banned in one league or another.


The guy's illustrious career was essentially over, and his quality of life (medically/physically) was probably taking a big hit. Having seen him in person a year or so ago at his physical therapy facility, I can assure you, if he used HGH, it wasn't to bulk up. In fact it was startling to me how little upper body musculature he seemed to have. No pecs to speak of. Even his legs looked skinny, esp. his calves. That is, he was not muscular for an NFL player. For an ordinary guy, he was lean and in good (but not great) shape. Point is, the only apparent advantage he might have gotten was to get well. This was not a Barry Bonds/Mark McGwire body, not by a longshot. [Yes, I recognize that, to the extent career-ending injuries are part of the game, he may have gained an "unfair" advantage over whoever would have taken his open slot on the Broncos roster]. But if what he did was an accepted treatment modality (is it? IDK), the rules should allow it so long as there's no unfair advantage in actual games.

It would stink for him if he had to go around the rules just to get his crumbling neck to be well enough to let him play. He's so near retirement anyway I'm not sure it'll have an effect on him if he is found to have circumvented them. Only the HoF would be an issue, and even then maybe it's too minor.

[moonpie23]

can't quibble with the "rules" when it comes to the court of public perception..

the guy has actually said that he made up the whole thing to "vet this reporter"....


i'm hoping so.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

can't quibble with the "rules" when it comes to the court of public perception..

the guy has actually said that he made up the whole thing to "vet this reporter"...


i'm hoping so.

I think it is much easier for the NFL to have a zero tolerance policy than to legislate intent. Injury recovery is clearly a legit reason for steroids, but if you have to evaluate each case of positive tests it gets messy quick.


Having said that, there's no positive test, and the only "evidence" is a guy who recanted his testimony. There is nothing actionable here; this will only affect the public perception of Peyton. Of course, that's wildly unfortunate if he is innocent.

[cspan37421]

It wasn't even testimony, was it? Not in a formal, legal sense.

[cf-62]

Not only recanted, but in a way that pretty much invalidates it - story is that he witnessed all this in 2011, years before the guy was hired as an intern at the clinic.

Like Rolling Stone's UVA article, this should never have seen the light of day.