The NFL is "conducting a comprehensive review" of the allegations that Broncos QB Peyton Manning had HGH "delivered to his house," according to the AP. There is "no timetable to complete the investigation, but it’s not expected" before Super Bowl 50. NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy said that the inquiry, "which began weeks ago, involves reviews of records, interviews and coordination with other agencies." The investigation comes after an Al Jazeera America report linked the delivery of HGH to Ashley Manning, Peyton's wife (AP, 1/26). NBC’s Matt Lauer wondered how the investigation will "impact the Super Bowl and Denver’s biggest star.” NBC's Craig Melvin noted this is the “second straight year that there has been some sort of controversy as the Super Bowl approaches,” with Deflategate dominating the headlines last year (“Today,” NBC, 1/27). USA Today's Jarrett Bell said the investigation is "going to be quite a topic of conversation when you get to Super Bowl week, because you're talking about something as explosive as HGH and these allegations and Peyton Manning." Bell: "It's one of those things that may ... gain some legs just from the conversation” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 1/27). CBSSPORTS.com's Sean Wagner-McGough wrote if the NFL "were to find that there's any legitimacy to the HGH allegations, Manning's legacy would certainly take a hit regardless of what happens" in the Super Bowl (CBSSPORTS.com, 1/26).
WHAT CAN NFL REALISTICALLY FIND? PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio noted the "overriding challenge from the NFL comes from its lack of power to obtain information from anyone other than Manning or any other NFL player, team, or employee." With no subpoena power, there is "one way to get the information that goes directly to the heart of the allegation that Manning’s wife received HGH for use by Peyton: To obtain from Manning and his wife legal authorization to obtain from the Guyer Institute any and all documents or other evidence regarding the treatments they received." Without that, the league "will have to wait for a prosecution of the Guyer Institute or civil litigation arising from the situation to ever get to the truth" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 1/26). USA Today's Bell said, “We don’t know what Peyton manning’s level of cooperation will be with this. Maybe he’ll be forthcoming in whatever investigators are looking for” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 1/27).
JOINING FORCES? ESPN.com's T.J. Quinn reported MLB has asked USADA to "help its investigation" into whether several players named in the Al Jazeera report received banned drugs. The two groups "have shared information before but have never cooperated to such a formal extent." Two sources said that the NFL "declined to coordinate" with MLB and USADA on their effort, although investigators in the "two parallel efforts have communicated" (ESPN.com, 1/26). NFL Senior VP/Communications Greg Aiello denied the ESPN claim, writing on Twitter, "This is wrong. NFL has worked with USADA & MLB from the start" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 1/26).
TIMING IS EVERYTHING: ESPN’s Skip Bayless said he was impressed that MLB "jumped right in" with their investigation, though it seems like the NFL "dragged its feet on saying, I guess for the first time yesterday, that finally, ‘Yes, we are also following up with our own investigation.’" Bayless: "The NFL doesn’t look great right now in that it didn’t leap to say, ‘Gee, we need to follow up on this.’” Bayless acknowledged the NFL "did announce a couple of days after the Al Jazeera report … that it would follow up," but the league "looked worse yesterday ... with the announcement by MLB." ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith: “They were a bit reluctant and lackadaisical in pursuing this. One would attach the motivation behind that to one Peyton Manning, the fact that he’s the golden boy, loved so dearly." Smith: "It would stand to reason that you don’t want to put yourself in the situation where now even Peyton Manning is sullied. ... That’s just a disaster in the eyes of the NFL” (“First Take,” ESPN2, 1/27).
