Ryan Zimmerman suing Al Jazeera for defamation

Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman is fighting accusations of performance-enhancing drug use with a defamation lawsuit filed today in the D.C. District Court against Al Jazeera America.

Zimmerman is suing Al Jazeera following an investigative broadcast report that named him as receiving and using Delta-2, a hormone supplement banned by Major League Baseball.

During the expose, the following conversation occurs between Liam Collins - a British hurdler working undercover for the report - and Charles Sly - identified as a pharmacist who once worked at a prominent anti-aging clinic in Indiana:

Collins: "How long have you known Zimmerman?"

Sly: "Probably six years. I worked with him in the offseason. That's how I get him to change some stuff."

Collins: "Is he on the D-2 as well?"

Sly: "Yeah."

Collins: "What does he think of the D-2?"

Sly: "It does its job."

Collins: "Does he notice a lot of power or not?"

Sly: "Yeah, I think some guys have just kind of gotten used to it. It's the new normal."

On Dec. 27, a day after the report surfaced, Sly recanted his statements about Zimmerman and numerous other high-profile athletes, calling them absolutely false and incorrect.

The lawsuit claims Al Jazeera was reckless in "publicly smeared Zimmerman with false and unsubstantiated allegations":

"All of these statements concerning Mr. Zimmerman are categorically untrue. Mr. Zimmerman has never taken Delta 2, human growth hormone, or any other steroid or other performance-enhancing substance banned by the MLB. Mr. Zimmerman has not known Charles David Sly for six years, and Charles David Sly has not gotten '(Mr. Zimmerman) to change some stuff.' Mr. Zimmerman has never received any banned substances from Charles David Sly and has never 'been coached (by Charles David Sly) on what to take and how to avoid testing positive.'

"Sly's statements about Mr. Zimmerman, as published by Defendants, are per se defamatory, as they falsely accuse Mr. Zimmerman of illegal acts, as well as acts injurious to his professional and business reputation -namely the taking of illegal and banned performance enhancing substances. These remarks are further defamatory in that they falsely suggest that the taking of these illegal and banned substances by Mr. Zimmerman was part of an ongoing 'maintenance' plan directed by Sly, and imply that Mr. Zimmerman's career accomplishments were the result of taking these substances."

The lawsuit also notes two separate cease-and-desist orders sent to Al Jazeera by Zimmerman's attorneys on Dec. 23 and Dec. 26.