Something smells rotten about Peyton Manning debacle
Veracity of Al Jazeera report linking NFL star to a banned drug still be determined, but motive for the report is a mystery
Time waits for no one. It’s even more impatient in the world of sports.
We may have recently witnessed some athletes seemingly cheat time only to find out they had a bit of help thanks to performance-enhancing drugs. But their feats have still been good for business and what self-respecting business reins things in because its practices may be unethical when profits are going through the roof? Pick your favourite sport and your favourite league and they are hardly immune to putting dollars before sense. It’s well documented.
Al Jazeera claims it was not implicating Manning and simply stating that the clinic sent HGH, which is banned by the NFL, to his wife Ashley
So we as sports fans are completely justified by our heightened level of cynicism, so much so that when someone alleges that a 39-year old NFL quarterback may have used banned substances to keep playing it’s not really a big story. However when that quarterback is considered an American sporting icon it takes on a life of its own and then becomes a huge story.
Peyton Manning is one of the most revered athletes in the US and one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. He has been involved in a number of high profile charitable causes and is an omnipresent, polished and engaging corporate pitchman. He is also generous with his time and has always treated the media with respect.
Not surprisingly, he gets the benefit of the doubt on most issues from both fans and the press. Manning is now finishing his fourth season with the Denver Broncos after playing 14 years with the Indianapolis Colts.