Three of the players who were implicated in the Al Jazeera report will meet with NFL investigators to bring an end to the issue.
Late last season, a report by Al Jazeera surfaced that implicated plenty of stars in the NFL regarding possible steroid use. The biggest name on that report was Peyton Manning, but he was cleared by NFL investigators.
However, they weren’t willing to let the active players walk that easily, as Roger Goodell issued an ultimatum: either meet with investigators for an interview by August 25, or be handed a 10-game suspension. That’s why, according to ESPN, James Harrison, Clay Matthews, and Julius Peppers have all agreed to give the interviews.
Free agent Mike Neal hasn’t agreed to meet with league officials yet, but there hasn’t been a date set for Matthews and Peppers’ respective interviews yet. However Harrison, who has never seen eye to eye with Goodell, requested for his interview to come on August 29 at the Pittsburgh Steelers facility, and is only willing to discuss what was outlined in the Al Jazeera report. The NFL hasn’t agreed to his conditions yet, but they had better do so for the sake of avoiding drama.
Harrison, Matthews, and Peppers are all key contributors, and holding out on a resolution any longer would’ve been wholly detrimental to both them and their teammates, especially if they have nothing to hide. Mike Neal, who is a free agent, hasn’t agreed to a date yet, but if it turns out that he did take PEDs, you can bet that no team will be calling to sign him.
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You could argue that it isn’t fair for Goodell to dig up this investigation after clearing Manning. He has also gone too far in his ultimatum, but issues like this need to be resolved lest they get dragged out just like Deflategate. And while the relationship between these two sides will likely be forever damaged, getting this over with will help them focus on the real task at hand, which is playing football.