In case you somehow missed it over the weekend, Peyton Manning has been accused of using HGH during his 2011 recovery from neck surgery by an Al Jazeera documentary that aired on Sunday night.
Ever since, it’s been a whirlwind of Manning-related news items. Manning came hard at his accusers on Sunday even threatening to sue Al Jazeera. In addition, a key source recanted his statements about implicating Manning, adding another layer to the accusations leveled against the former MVP quarterback.
Now, it appears as though Manning has support from an unlikely source: his long-time rival Tom Brady.
Brady made his weekly appearance on WEEI’s Dennis and Callahan show, and while many of the questions revolved around that questionable decision made by Bill Belichick to kick off to the Jets in overtime eventually costing the Pats a win, (unsurprisingly, Brady said he doesn’t blame his coach for electing to defer), the radio hosts also asked him about his position on the Manning allegations, and the Patriots’ quarterback was unabashed in his support for Manning.
“I have a lot of personal thoughts that really are personal to me. Peyton, I would consider him a good friend. You hate to see your good friends go through anything like that. He’s been a great player for this league, for his teams, for his organizations. He’s been one of the best players to ever play the game. Nobody has more respect for Peyton than I do, and everything that he’s accomplished. There’s always challenging times, but he’s a tough guy. I know that. He’s a very mentally and physically tough guy. … He’s a big boy. He knows how to handle these things. …
I fully support Peyton. My friendship with him over the years, he’s a guy that I can always count on, and has been someone that’s always been so supportive of me. We’ll have lifelong friendships. Truthfully I don’t put much into anything. I have a lot of friends, I have a lot of support, and he is the same. I’m a big fan and supporter of his. That’s how I really feel about everything.”
Brady certainly knows a thing or two about being accused of something controversial, but it’s still interesting to see him taking a side so firmly. Maybe Brady is just trying to make it up to Peyton after that burn he gave Manning via email that was leaked last year.
(Via WEEI)
