The Green Bay Packers don’t appear to be playing any role whatsoever in the NFL’s drug crusade against Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers. That is, other than facilitator.
The Packers will make Matthews and Peppers available to whoever the league sends around to conduct interviews with the two players, on Tuesday. Other than that, they appear to be staying out of it. So much so, they don’t even seem to have any information about what will or could transpire.
“The league is pursuing that,” Packers president Mark Murphy said Thursday afternoon. “I know there’s been some resistance from the (NFL Players Association) about the credibility of some of the sources there. But I don’t think we know much more than that.”
This, of course, all stems from the Al Jazeera report released in December. It fingered then Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning most prominently. The report also mentioned Peppers, Matthews and former Packers linebacker Mike Neal.
Those players were said to be part of a “drug ring.”
All of them denied it and are reportedly eager to talk to the league and get this over with. The NFLPA isn’t so eager, however, and that’s why this investigation has dragged on since January.
Since the initial report was based off of now-recanted allegations, the player’s association rightfully feels the league is overstepping in their investigation.
It doesn’t look like that’s going to matter, though.
Hopefully, once the interviews are over, this will quickly come to an end.