NFL threatens four players with suspension over Al Jazeera report on PED allegations

The NFL has decided to play hard ball with James Harrison, Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers and Mike Neal. In a letter that was written to the NFLPA on Monday, and obtained by CBSSports.com, the league announced that each player will be suspended if they don't cooperate with the NFL's investigation into allegations that all four players received performance-enhancing drugs (PED) from the Guyer Institute in Indiana. The allegations were made in December in a report that was released by Al Jazeeera America. Peyton Manning was also named in the report, but he has since been cleared. Much of the report was based on the testimony of Charlie Sly, who has since recanted everything he said. The NFL has been attempting to interview Harrison, Matthews, Peppers and Neal for the past month, but nothing has gone down yet because the NFLPA has asked the players not to participate, according to the NFL's letter, which was written by Adolpho Birch, the NFL's senior vice president of labor policy and government affairs.

"The statements, however, are wholly devoid of any detail, and we were quickly able to determine that Mr. Neal's statement includes an assertion that is demonstrably false," the letter states. Neal is currently a free agent. Any potential suspension would hit the Packers the hardest since Matthew and Peppers both play for Green Bay. Harrison is going into his 13th year with the Steelers and 14th year overall. The Steelers linebacker tried to fix the situation in June when he agree to be interviewed, but only under certain conditions. For instance, Harrison said the interview had to be done at his house on the date of his choosing, and Roger Goodell would have to attend.