Medical clinic head: Accuser not on staff in 2011

Guyer says HGH story was fabricated

INDIANAPOLIS — The founder of an Indianapolis medical facility said Monday that a former unpaid student intern who claimed Peyton Manning used a banned substance in 2011 didn’t even work at the clinic until two years later, long after the NFL star was undergoing treatment.

Dr. Dale Guyer, who started The Guyer Institute, said the allegations against the Denver quarterback are untrue.

Manning angrily denied using performance-enhancing substances shortly after the Al Jazeera report went public Saturday. It was based on secret recordings of Charles Sly, who named other high-profile athletes and suggested Manning obtained human growth hormone via mail addressed to his wife, Ashley.

Sly has since recanted the story and told Al Jazeera the statements attributed to him “are absolutely false and incorrect.”

“I have no reason to believe these allegations are based in fact or have any truth. In fact, I can say with absolute certainty they are not,” Guyer said. “I would emphasize that Mr. Sly was never an employee of the Guyer Institute and his brief, three-month internship occurred in 2013 during which time Peyton was not even being treated or present in the office. I think it is obvious that Mr. Sly has fabricated this whole thing for reasons I cannot fathom.”

Guyer said Sly had no patient responsibilities and has had no affiliation with the clinic since his unpaid internship from February-May 2013. Manning was treated at the facility in 2011 following four neck surgeries.

Al Jazeera’s report claims Manning received HGH from the Indianapolis anti-aging clinic in 2011 while he was still with the Colts. It said the drug, which was later banned by the NFL in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, was delivered to his wife so that the QB’s name was never attached to the shipments.

COLTS: Coach Chuck Pagano confirmed that the Colts (7-8) had former Tampa Bay QB Josh Freeman in for a workout and that the team may sign him. If they do, Pagano acknowledged he could start Sunday vs. Tennessee.

Starter Andrew Luck has already missed eight games. Backup Matt Hasselbeck finished last Sunday vs. Miami with his injured right shoulder in a sling. Third-stringer Charlie Whitehurst was barely able to run out the clock against the Dolphins after hurting his hamstring and was put on injured reserve Monday, leaving recently signed Stephen Morris as the team’s only healthy QB.

BROWNS: Second-year quarterback Johnny Manziel is expected to have a conversation with Cleveland coach Mike Pettine after yet another video surfaced over the weekend on social media of him partying. In the short clip, Manziel, wearing a “Merry Manziel” shirt, is seen singing along as “March Madness” by Future plays in the background.

Last month, Manziel was demoted from starter to third-string by Pettine after he denied that a video of him partying in Austin, Texas, was taken during Cleveland’s bye week. Manziel had promised he wouldn’t be a distraction while the team was off.

TEXANS: Quarterback Brian Hoyer is in the last phase of the NFL’s concussion protocol and will start Sunday against Jacksonville if he is cleared.