Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman was among a handful of big-name athletes to be accused of using human growth hormone in an Al Jazeera report on Sunday — an accusation the team strongly refutes.
The Nationals put out a statement in support of Zimmerman, who has played for the them since 2005.
“Ryan Zimmerman has been an integral member of the Washington Nationals family for the pass 11 years,” the statement reads. “During that time, he has been the model for all that we ask our players to be — contributing to his team, to his community and to the game of baseball.
“We do not find Al Jazeera’s report — which has already been recanted by their source — to be credible.
“Ryan has unequivocally stated that these allegations are false. The Lerner family and organization fully support him. We are confident that Major League Baseball’s investigation with show the allegations levied in this report are unfounded.”
The Nationals went on to say they will cooperate with MLB’s investigation into the allegations, and all questions should be referred to the league.
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The key figure in the report is Charlie Sly, a pharmacist based in Austin, Texas. Sly is secretly recorded and said that Zimmerman was among the players he provided with HGH. Sly posted a video on Sunday in which he recanted those statements, saying, “There is no truth to any statement of mine that Al Jazeera plans to air.”
In the documentary, Sly claims to have known Zimmerman for six years, worked with him in the offseason, and supplied him with a human growth hormone known as “D-2.”
Zimmerman, 31, was an all-star in 2009 and has twice won a Silver Slugger Award. He missed much of last season because of plantar fasciitis and an oblique strain.
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, Chicago Cubs catcher Taylor Teagarden and Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker James Harrison are also named in the report.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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