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NFL will suspend players named in Al Jazeera PED report unless they agree to interview

Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

The NFL has informed the NFL Players Association on Monday that the four players accused of using performance-enhancing drugs in an Al Jazeera America report - James Harrison, Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers, and Mike Neal - must be interviewed by Aug. 25 or face suspension, in a letter obtained by multiple media outlets.

If any of the players are suspended - which would be separate from any future discipline imposed under the NFL's drug policy - commissioner Roger Goodell would make the decision as to when they could be reinstated.

In the letter, the NFL alleges that it has attempted to interview the players "at least seven times," but that the NFLPA has responded by communicating the players' refusal to cooperate.

Harrison's agent, Bill Parise, said he and his client have yet to be informed of the letter, but said the veteran linebacker would be open to the interview, according to CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora.

Parise also claimed Harrison never denied the NFL's attempt to interview him, adding that the NFLPA told the four players not to agree to the meetings.

The NFL's also alleges that Neal, who remains a free agent, made a "demonstrably false" assertion in a half-page statement given to the league by the NFLPA which highlights the need to conduct the interviews, the league argues.

Al Jazeera's report included accusations by Charles Sly, a former intern at an anti-aging clinic. The NFLPA has demanded the league provide "credible evidence" to interview the four players after Sly recanted his accusations.

Harrison, Matthews, and Peppers were expected to be interviewed on the first day of training camp, but no such meetings took place when camp opened at the end of July.

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