Rocket’s Road To Ruin!
Roger Clemens indicted for lying under oath to Congress

The nightmare began over 2-1/2 years ago. On December 13, 2007 Ex-senator George Mitchell, who had been authorized by Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to look into the severity of the steroid/HGH problem in baseball, filed the report on his findings. It was entitled, “REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONER OF BASEBALL OF AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION INTO THE ILLEGAL USE OF STEROIDS AND OTHER PERFORMANCE ENHANCING SUBSTANCES BY PLAYERS IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.”

The report was 409 pages long and it capped an approximate 21-month investigation. Eighty-six players were named in the report. The team with players most often named was the New York Yankees, which led the field with 22 names associated with the club. They were followed by the Baltimore Orioles (18), Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels (16), New York Mets (15), Los Angeles Dodgers (15) and the Texas Rangers (15).

Right smack in the middle of the report, on page 167, appeared the biggest name of all – Roger Clemens.

It all started with the Federal Government’s investigation of convicted steroid peddler Kurt Radomski. In connection with the investigation Federal agents questioned Clemens personal trainer Brian McNamee. McNamee, a former New York police officer, agreed to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney’s Office as part of their investigation of Radomski. Additionally, it was agreed to that McNamee would not be charged with any crime if he gave truthful answers. However, any false answers would mean McNamee could and would face charges.

Mitchell piggybacked onto the Federal investigation and was allowed to question McNamee about any involvement he had in distributing performance enhancing drugs to any major league players. McNamee told Mitchell he became professionally involved with Clemens in 1998 and over a three year period from 1998 through 2001 McNamee said he injected Clemens several times with various PEDs.

According to McNamee after the 2001 season Clemens never asked him to inject him with performance enhancing drugs again. However, McNamee stated that he continued as a personal trainer for Clemens as well as picking up Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch. Radomski indicated in the report that when asked how Pettitte or Knoblauch was doing McNamee would indicate, “they are on the program.” Radomski took it to mean they were using PEDs, but admitted McNamee never directly said so.

The Mitchell Report also indicated Clemens remained a source of income through 2007.

On December 23, 2007, after the report was made public, Clemens went on the defensive and made a YouTube video, running a minute and forty-eight seconds, and categorically denying ever having used or being injected with performance enhancing drugs by McNamee or anyone else.

Clemens next stop was the studios of CBS’s “60 Minutes” news program. Clemens was interviewed by veteran report Mike Wallace. The interview was broadcast on Sunday, January 6, 2008. Once again Clemens denied ever using any performance enhancing drugs.

Sunday night, in Harris County District Court in Texas, Clemens filed suit against McNamee listing 15 alleged statements McNamee made to the baseball drug investigator George Mitchell. Clemens stated the statements were "untrue and defamatory."

At the same time it was learned that McNamee called Clemens on the Friday before the 60 Minutes interview and had a 17-minute phone conversation, which began with Clemens inquiring about McNamee’s ailing son.

Later in the conversation the talk turned to the allegations McNamee made. Clemens told McNamee, “I didn’t do it.” McNamee replied, “Tell me what you want me to do. I'll go to jail. I'll do whatever you want." Clemens never told McNamee to recant his allegations and say he was lying. He only said he wanted someone to tell the truth. Afterward, Clemens’ attorney Rusty Hardin told the press he said Clemens could have said more, but didn’t because he had instructed Clemens not to threaten McNamee or make it sound like he was intimidating a potential Federal witness.

As McNamee’s and Clemens’ attorney’s played word war games in the press the United States Congress stepped into the fray and wanted both men, along with Pettitte and Knoblauch to testify before them as to their alleged PED usage and whatever else they knew, which would help the problem of performance enhancing drugs in Baseball.

On February 5, 2008 Clemens told federal investigators he had never taken any form of performing enhancing drugs.

The next day McNamee and his team revealed they had given investigators several needles and gauze with Clemens blood and traces of PEDs on them to prove Clemens had injected illegal substances.

The hearing was set for February 13, 2008 in Washington, DC. It went off as scheduled, but the most important witness in the matter wasn’t even at the hearing.

Andy Pettitte, who was Clemens’ friend and teammate on both the Yankees and later Houston Astros, admitted receiving HGH shots from McNamee in 2002 to help speed up the healing process of tendinitis in his throwing elbow. A condition that landed Pettitte on the disabled list. In his affidavit Pettitte said in 1999 he had a conversation with Clemens while training with him where Clemens admitted to him he had taken Human Growth Hormone. Later Clemens denied using HGH and when Pettitte confronted Clemens about the discrepancy Clemens said he wasn’t talking about his usage, but his wife, Debbie.

In the hearing Clemens told the congressional committee that Pettitte mistaken their conversation.

"I think Andy has misheard. I think he misremembers," Clemens said.

In McNamee’s deposition before the congressional committee a week before the hearing McNamee stated that he had injected Debbie Clemens with HGH to get her to look good for a pose on a Sports Illustrated cover. As had been the cycle throughout the “he said, he said” ordeal the details surrounding this shot were disputed.

Clemens said McNamee told Debbie about the advantages of using HGH and that she injected herself and McNamee claimed he gave Mrs. Clemens the injection in the Clemens’ bedroom in Roger Clemens presence.

In another deposition former major leaguer and ex-teammate of Clemens and Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch, said in his sworn statement that McNamee, while training him when with the New York Yankees, had injected him with HGH 7 to 9 times in 2002.

At the end of the hearing things were not looking good for Clemens. McNamee was apparently truthful in his statements about Pettitte, Knoblauch and Debbie Clemens. How is it that these three witnesses corroborated McNamee’s claims, but Clemens is saying McNamee is lying about him? Clemens veracity was clearly in question.

Late in February, 2008 the congressional committee requested the U.S. Justice Department begin an investigation to determine if Clemens had lied to Congress under oath.

Eleven months later the Federal Grand Jury convened to review testimony and evidence to determine if Clemens should be prosecuted for lying under oath to Congress.

In February of 2009 tests conducted on the items turned over to Federal investigators indicate Clemens’ DNA is in the syringes McNamee claims he use to inject the pitcher with performance enhancing drugs. Approximately one month later investigators discover evidence of performance enhancing drugs on the items provided by McNamee.

On August 28 the Federal court in Houston, Texas dismissed Clemens defamation suit against McNamee. He later lost an appeal to have it reinstated. Meanwhile, McNamee filed his own defamation suit in Brooklyn, New York. Advantage McNamee.

Now comes the indictment against the man who was arguably hailed as the greatest pitcher in the history of baseball. Two World Series rings, seven Cy Young Awards, an MVP, All-star selections, etc. etc. We may be finding out why now. Remember when, in 1997, ex-GM Dan Duquette said Clemens was in the “twilight of his career” and the Boston Red Sox let him go to Toronto? Maybe Duquette had a better sense of Clemens abilities than he was given credit for.

On top of all of this Clemens secret personal life came to light as well. Always depicted as a family man who loved his wife dearly Clemens was discovered to have had many trysts during his career. Everything from an underage ex-country singer to a porn star. Clemens first denied any of it, but later apologized for personal mistakes to his wife and family, but never said what he was apologizing for.

Roger Clemens is up the proverbial “bleep” creek without a paddle. His life as he knew it is crumbling around him. The next few months to years ahead Clemens may be trading in his Yankee pinstripes for another kind of uniform with stripes. No matter what the outcome of any future trial may indicate Clemens will be tried and convicted in the court of public opinion.

Admittedly, each tidbit mentioned here, by themselves, would hardly condemn anyone, but taken in mass and as a whole this chronology of alleged lies and evidence can be quite damning to Clemens, his future and his legacy.

There is no honor, no glory and no Hall of Fame in Clemens future as it appears now. How does he look his kids in their faces or his wife’s and say, “It ain’t so?”

For their sakes and his I hope he’s right.

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