Al-Jazeera America is asking a judge to dismiss defamation lawsuits filed by two Major League Baseball players over statements made in the broadcaster’s documentary about performance-enhancing drugs in sports.
Lawyers for the news organization and for Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals and Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies appeared Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington. The suits, which were consolidated into one Tuesday, refer to the documentary “The Dark Side: Secrets of Sports Doping,” broadcast by Al-Jazeera America in December 2015.
The suit alleges a pharmacist who appeared in the documentary made false statements when he said Zimmerman and Howard took banned performance-enhancing drugs.
Major League Baseball investigated the allegations and said it found no violations of its drug agreement.
After more than two hours of arguments Tuesday, the judge overseeing the case said she would issue a written ruling on whether the case should be dismissed. But she did not say when she would rule.
Topics Legislation
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Rising Prices, Low Satisfaction Drive 49% of Customers to Shop For New Auto Insurance 
Insurers Get Green Light to Pay Less Than Billed Charges in Florida PIP Cases 
Travelers to Open Technology Office in Atlanta 
Class Action Settlements Flooded With Fraudulent Claims by Scammers 
