When an Al Jazeera report linking Peyton Manning to an Indianapolis doping ring first broke, it took the NFL and ESPN only days to dismiss the news as a non-story.
All it took was Charlie Strong, a former employee of the Guyer Clinic in Indianapolis and Al Jazeera’s chief witness, to recanted his story — despite Al Jazeera doubling-down on the story — “for the NFL media to pretend the story did not exist,” writes the Boston Globe. (RELATED: Peyton Manning Linked To High-Profile Steroid Ring)
But why would the media — the same that cited lies and false narratives to drag Patriots quarterback Tom Brady through the mud across all of 2015 — simply ignore the biggest sports story of the year?
According to Al Jazeera, money.
“What you have to understand is that a lot of the commentators — especially from CBS, ESPN — have big contracts with major sports leagues,” Al Jazeera producer Jeremy Young told Huffington Post. “It’s not easy for them to openly criticize [Manning] because it could have potential ramifications for their bottom line.”
The response to the Al Jazeera report should have resulted in some type of “serious law enforcement investigation,” notes reporter Deborah Davies. “This is a rare example of original journalism resulting in an impactful investigation. There were no leaked docs, no whistleblower — we initiated the investigative process.”
Additionally, Al Jazeera’s credibility has been thrown into question by ESPN and other sports media outlets.
“If we talk about it, we would only continue to breathe life into a story that, on all levels, is a non-story,” CBS announcer Jim Nantz said of the report. “Why add another layer to it?”
“They’re out there spreading garbage,” Hall of Fame coach Mike Ditka said on last week’s broadcast of “NFL Countdown.”
“That’s what they do, yet we give them credibility by talking about it.”
So much for excellence in journalism.