Peyton Manning is emphatically denying allegations he used human growth hormone as part of his recovery from a neck injury in 2011.
In an interview with ESPN's Lisa Salters aired on "Sunday NFL Countdown," the Denver Broncos quarterback responded to an Al Jazeera documentary entitled "The Dark Side."
"I think I rotate between being angry, furious," Manning said. "Disgusted is really how I feel, sickened by it. I'm not sure I understand how someone can make something up about somebody, admit that he's made it up, and yet it somehow gets published in a story."
The initial statements from Charlie Sly, a former pharmacist at the Guyer Clinic, alleged that Manning's wife, Ashley, was the stated recipient of HGH and other drugs.
Sly has since attempted to retract some of his allegations.
"It's completely fabricated," Manning said. "Complete trash, garbage. There's some more adjectives I'd like to be able to use, but it really makes me sick."
Manning took particular exception to the fact that his wife's medical privacy was violated as part of the documentary.
"It makes me sick that it brings Ashley into it, her medical history, her medical privacy being violated."
Asked specifically whether he's ever taken HGH or any other performance-enhancing drug, the veteran quarterback issued the following reponse:
"Absolutely not. Absolutely not. And what hurts me the most about this is that, whoever this guy is, this slapstick trying to insinuate that in 2011 when I more or less had a broken neck ... I busted my butt to get healthy."
"... It stings me, whoever this guy is, insinuating that I cut corners, I broke NFL rules in order to get healthy. It's a joke. It's a freaking joke."
Manning retained the services of former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer as a spokesman after the report initially emerged Saturday night, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Fleischer told Rapoport that Manning never used HGH, but his wife was a patient at the anti-aging clinic and had an undisclosed prescription.
The quarterback's representation reportedly intends to watch the documentary before deciding whether to pursue any legal action.
