Ryan Howard Reportedly Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Al Jazeera America

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has filed a defamation lawsuit against Al Jazeera America, according to Jim Salisbury of the CSNPhilly.com.

"Today I authorized my attorneys to file suit against Al Jazeera and its reporters. Their irresponsible reporting forced me to take this action to protect my name and to fight back against the spreading of these lies. I will have no further comment, as the filing itself contains all I need to say," Howard said in a statement, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.

Reuters also reported Tuesday that Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is suing Al Jazeera as well. Howard and Zimmerman share an attorney, according to Chris Cwik of Yahoo Sports.

An Al Jazeera documentary titled The Dark Side: The Secret World of Sports Doping claimed that players including Howard, Zimmerman and NFL superstar Peyton Manning used steroids and human growth hormone and linked them to a clinic that distributed them. 

Charlie Sly, a pharmacist who allegedly supplied the athletes, claimed that both Howard and Zimmerman used a steroid called Delta-2, per the Huffington Post's Travis Waldron and Ryan Grim.

Sly recanted his statements from the documentary, however, while Howard, Zimmerman and Manning have all vehemently denied the claims in the film.