Either the NFL was bluffing or the player’s association is getting their way. Despite telling everyone they would be showing up on the first day of training camp to interview Green Bay Packers linebackers Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers about drug allegations, no interviews have been conducted.
The allegations stem from a December Al Jazeera report. The chief source in that report subsequently recanted his statements and the NFLPA has been trying to block any interviews with the players who were implicated in it.
And rightfully so, since it sets a dangerous precedent. The NFL seems to posses no actual evidence of wrongdoing in this case.
“It sets a dangerous precedent, but at the same time, I get it, they have a job to do,” Matthews said of the NFL. “But now I’m — and some of these other guys — are in kind of in a whirlwind of controversy. If it was up to me this thing would be behind us a long time ago.”
Apparently, the NFLPA has been successful in blocking any interviews thus far. That also potentially explains why the NFL made a big deal out of clearing now-retired quarterback Peyton Manning earlier this week.
Manning was the main focus of the original report. Not only did the league make a big deal out of clearing him, but they also touted how Manning allowed them full access to all the information they asked for.
Both Matthews and Peppers have maintained their innocence and appear content to led the player’s association handle the matter.
“I’m letting the PA handle that,” Peppers said, when asked whether he was going to cooperate. “Probably will, but don’t really know the details of the process at this moment.”
While that seems to be the right way to go, we’d also all probably like to have this be over with.
3 Comments
Yes NFL, lets have these players mentally in legal purgatory for who knows how long with your looming threat of an investigation of an article, later retracted by the original writer and the story as a whole written for a news outlet that due to it’s stellar product, doesn’t even exist anymore.
Sounds totally legit.
I think the NFL said they wanted to talk to Neal first. Was that statement a veiled threat to Peppers and Matthews? Maybe the NFL have not talked to Neal or are trying to confirm what Neal said before or if they talk to Peppers and Matthews.
To me the NFL should either do the interview promptly or make a statement promptly that there is no credible evidence one or the other. As the so called source provided no credible evidence for the Manning portion of the investigation then I guess that should bring into question the credibility and truthfulness of the so called source. Once a liar always a liar.
Just go with the tried and true….that’s not me in that video…or that’s not mine it’s addressed to my wife. Case closed