Stickman/Bauer-Griffin/GC ImagesPeyton Manning is furious about an Al Jazeera report that accuses him of using performance-enhancing drugs, saying it was "fabricated" and that he is "disgusted" and "sickened" by the allegations.
In an undercover investigation documentary released by the TV news and online outlet on Sunday, titled The Dark Side: Secrets of the Sports Dopers, Manning is among several pro athletes implicated. Al Jazeera reported a pharmacist claimed his clinic had given the 39-year-old Denver Broncos quarterback's wife Ashley a supply of human growth hormone in 2011 while the athlete was recovering from surgery.
The man later recanted the statements he made in the documentary.
When asked if he had ever used HGH or any performance-enhancing drug, Manning told ESPN in an on-camera interview on Sunday, "Absolutely not. Absolutely not."
No NFL player has ever tested positive for HGH, a banned substance for NFL players.
"I think I rotated between being angry, furious," Manning said, talking about his response to the accusations. "Disgusted is really how I feel, sickened by it...It's completely fabricated, complete trash, garbage—there's some more adjectives I'd like to be able to use. But it really makes me sick."
Manning said it also makes him sick that his wife was brought into it.
"Any medical treatments that my wife receives, that's her business," he said. "That has nothing to do with me. Nothing that was sent to her and my wife has used have I ever taken. Absolutely not.
Manning said he had suffered a neck injury in 2011 and "busted his butt" to recover.
"I put in a lot of hard work," he said. "I saw a lot of doctors."
"It stings me, whoever this guy is, insinuating I cut corners, I broke NFL rules in order to get healthy," he added. "It's a joke. It's a freakin' joke."
The Broncos and Manning's former team, the Indianapolis Colts, also responded to the report.
"Knowing Peyton Manning and everything he stands for, the Denver Broncos support him 100 percent," the Broncos said in a statement. "These are false claims made to Al Jazeera, and we don't believe the report."
The Colts said the documentary was "utterly ridiculous."
"We are thoroughly familiar with Peyton's tireless work habits, his medical history, and, most importantly, his integrity," the team said in a statement. "Peyton played the game in Indianapolis for 14 years the right way. He never took any shortcuts and it would be absurd to suggest he would have taken prohibited performance enhancing drugs."