The denials of the Al Jazeera report regarding the alleged use of HGH by Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning include a contention that Charles Sly, who provided the information regarding Manning’s alleged HGH use, didn’t work at the Guyer Institute during 2011, the year in which Manning reportedly obtained HGH through his wife. The reporter from Al Jazeera who was directly involved in the story insists that Sly indeed worked at the Guyer Institute in 2011.
“Both Manning and the operator of the anti-aging clinic maintained today that the informant worked at the clinic only in 2013,” Peter King said during NBC’s Football Night in America. “I talked to the Al Jazeera reporter late this afternoon who did this story and she told me that they have confirmation from the clinic that the informant’s employment records say that he worked there in 2011.”
It’s one of those bright-line facts that could lend credence to the rest of the story being pushed by each side. However, it’s also possibly a red herring; even if Sly worked there only in 2013, he’d have access to the secrets that get told among employees — and it’s safe to say that accounts of providing HGH to Peyton Manning is the kind of secrets that employees would find fascinating.
Still, if Al Jazeera is wrong about such an indisputable fact, all other allegations and details becomes suspect. Likewise, if Manning and the Guyer Institute have gotten the details of Sly’s association with the clinic wrong, the entire denial becomes shaky.