North: Nantz's non-story remark hurts his credibility

The recent reaction to the Dec. 29 report by Al Jazeera that HGH was delivered to Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has been interesting.

Several other well-known athletes were also implicated: former New York Yankee Derek Jeter, Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews, former Bears defensive end Julius Peppers, Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard and Washington first baseman Ryan Zimmerman to name a few.

NFL representatives, aided by the mainstream media, has been somewhat successful in dismissing any wrongdoing by Manning saying he did not have a connection to the Guyer Institute in Dyer, Indiana, even though Manning did visit the clinic in 2011 when he was recovering from neck surgeries.

The clinic has stated that the claims involving Manning and HGH are false.

I don't know what the truth is regarding HGH and Manning, but my problem isn't whether he did or didn't get a delivery. My complaint is with how the story has or hasn't been covered.

The story was notable because of the prominence of the individuals involved.

Howard and Zimmerman are suing the publication that printed the accusations, which in my world goes a long way in making me believe they are innocent of any wrongdoing. Manning says he will address the situation in more detail after the football season is over. His vehement comments before Sunday's NFL games showed him red-faced and angry, as he proclaimed his innocence.

But the attitude of many in the media over the story - or non-story as they see it - leads me to believe there is a cover-up.

Jim Nantz, a CBS announcer, and Phil Simms, the former New York Giant quarterback and CBS commentator, didn't address the Manning situation during the Broncos-Charger game on Sunday. Nantz appeared earlier in the week on WFAN in New York with Mike Francesa saying it was a non-story, and didn't want to add layers.

Shame on you my friend. Francesa should have followed up and pushed the issue, but he quickly forgot about it.

Listen, it's cool for Manning and Nantz to be friends; they share the same agent, Sandy Montag, and have done Papa Johns and Sony commercials together. But all Nantz had to do was acknowledge the story and then simply move on.

Making it a non-story was a mistake. I think Nantz's credibility and integrity are in question by ignoring the story. It's not his decision to decide if it's a story. He should give the people the facts and let them decide.

I can't help but ask if the boxes in question were delivered to Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees or any other big-name QBs, would it have been a story?

Oh yeah! This is a cover-up of maybe very little, but to not even discuss it when Cleveland Browns QB Johnny Manziel spins a record at a nightclub and it's big news, I have to disagree with Nantz.

Credibility is an important thing in this world and right now, Nantz has none. Stay tuned!

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