MLB clears Zimmerman of PED use alleged in Al Jazeera report

ATLANTA - Major League Baseball has cleared Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman of any violations of the league's drug program, announcing today no evidence of wrongdoing was found during an investigation prompted by Al Jazeera America's controversial report of steroid use in professional sports earlier this year.

MLB also cleared Phillies slugger Ryan Howard of the same allegations, made by pharmacist Charlie Sly in the report Al Jazeera aired in January.

"The Office of the Commissioner has completed its investigation into the statements made by Charlie Sly concerning players Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies and Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals in the Al Jazeera documentary 'The Dark Side,' " MLB said in a statement. "This thorough investigation did not find any violations of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program by either Howard or Zimmerman."

MLB said both Zimmerman and Howard "fully cooperated" with the league's investigation, but Sly (who recanted his allegations before Al Jazeera aired the documentary) did not agree to speak with the commissioner's office or provide requested information.

Zimmerman, who is slated to return from a left wrist injury tonight and start for the Nationals against the Braves, reiterated his innocence in a statement released through his agency and vowed to proceed with the defamation lawsuit he and Howard have filed against Al Jazeera.

"I understand why Major League Baseball found it necessary to explore this matter, and I appreciate that MLB, after a thorough investigation, was able to publicly affirm my innocence," Zimmerman said in the statement released by his agency, CAA. "Throughout my life and career, I have been true to myself, my family, the Nationals organization and my community. It is not right that a so-called news organization and its personnel can publicly make false accusations that damage my reputation and call into question my integrity without any consequences whatsoever. As I said in January when I filed my lawsuit, I am determined to hold Al Jazeera and its reporters accountable for their defamatory actions."

In the documentary - which made international headlines for its accusation (since debunked) that NFL quarterback Peyton Manning received performance enhancing drugs - Sly was caught on hidden camera saying Zimmerman and Howard were among the athletes who received shipments of Delta-2 (a steroid-like hormone supplement) from him while he worked at the Guyer Institute in Indianapolis.

Sly later recanted the story and told Al Jazeera the statements attributed to him "are absolutely false and incorrect," though the network still aired the previously completed documentary as scheduled.

"I've never met that guy," Zimmerman said after reporting to spring training in February. "I've never heard of that guy. The guy that supposedly helps me train in the offseason."

The link between Sly and Zimmerman appeared to be Jason Riley, a Florida athletic trainer and strength coach who has worked with him in the past. According to a New York Times report, Riley founded a nutritional supplement company with Sly and another investor called Elementz Nutrition Web, which included a photo of Zimmerman on its website before shutting down.

Zimmerman and Howard filed a defamation lawsuit against Al Jazeera America, reporter Deborah Davies and British hurdler Liam Collins (who went undercover for the network to interview Sly) shortly after the documentary aired. The burden of proof for public figures in a defamation suit is extraordinarily high - the plaintiffs must show the accused both aired false material and did so with either actual malice or a reckless disregard for the truth.

"We believe Al Jazeera deliberately ignored the facts and relied on people they knew to be unreliable to report the story for its sensationalist value," William Burck, the lawyer representing both Zimmerman and Howard said in a statement today. "Al Jazeera didn't care about the truth or the harm they caused by broadcasting their false story."