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Angry Clemens again denies he used steroids

BY KAT O'BRIEN | kat.obrien@newsday.com

January 8, 2008

HOUSTON - Roger Clemens made his most forceful attempt yet to convince the world that he did not use steroids, as was alleged by his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, in the Mitchell Report.

Within a 24-hour span that ended last night, Clemens appeared on "60 Minutes" in a taped interview, filed a defamation lawsuit against McNamee, held a news conference here, aired a recorded phone conversation from Friday between himself and McNamee, and pledged to testify in Washington next week.

"I'm going to Congress," Clemens said, "and I'm going to tell the truth."

The news conference began with Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin, addressing reporters. He then played a 17½-minute phone call between Clemens and McNamee, an interaction that was reported by Newsday on Sunday. Clemens answered reporters' questions for about 15 minutes before becoming so angry that he cut the interview short and walked out, saying, "I've said enough."

Clemens said and revealed plenty. He clenched his teeth and bit his lip, and his voice rose as he spoke with reporters. At one point, Hardin passed him a sheet of paper and Clemens read it aloud, saying, "You want me to lighten up? It's hard."

Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, voiced his displeasure at reporters, some of whom he said already had judged him negatively. Some have suggested that the steroids allegations could keep him out of the Hall of Fame, to which Clemens said: "Do you think I played my career because I care about the Hall of Fame? ... If you have a vote for the Hall of Fame ... you keep your vote."

The highlight was the phone conversation between him and McNamee. According to Clemens and Hardin, McNamee had texted Clemens seeking to speak with him because McNamee's 10-year-old son, Brian, was ill and upset about Clemens' situation. Clemens spoke with his legal counsel and agreed to get in touch once he returned to Houston last Friday.

During the conversation, Clemens repeatedly said things such as: "For the life of me, I'm trying to figure out why you told guys I did steroids" and "I didn't do it, all this stuff" and "I need somebody to come tell the truth."

McNamee asked Clemens over and over: "What do you want me to do?" He said he would do whatever Clemens wanted, even go to jail. One reason Clemens never gave a specific answer to McNamee's request is that Clemens did not want to be seen as tampering with a witness.

McNamee never said during the phone call that Clemens had done steroids, nor did McNamee say he had lied to investigators about Clemens using steroids. He talked about the saga's effect on their families.

After making a deal with federal prosecutors that he would avoid drug charges by telling the truth, McNamee had said he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone. During the phone call, McNamee said: "All I did was what I thought was right. I never thought it was right, but I thought I had no choice, put it that way."

McNamee seemed to be seeking some type of forgiveness from Clemens. He praised Clemens' treatment of him over the years, saying: "You treated me like family from day one" and "I learned from you how to raise my kids."

Clemens' camp recorded Friday's conversation. Texas law requires only that one party give consent to the taping of a conversation.

Hardin told reporters he had prevented Clemens from coming forward publicly (beyond a released statement) immediately after the Dec. 13 release of the Mitchell Report. Hardin said he had advised Clemens to say nothing more than that until Hardin could further vet the situation.

McNamee also accused Clemens' close friend and longtime teammate, Andy Pettitte, of using human growth hormone. Pettitte later admitted twice using HGH.

Clemens said yesterday, "Andy's situation is totally different than mine." He added that their relationship had not been damaged, saying, "Andy Pettitte's my friend." Pettitte retained Pittsburgh lawyer Jay Reisinger, who previously represented Sammy Sosa, for the congressional hearing.

As for what others in baseball think, Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner told The Associated Press in Tampa: "I thought the media commentary after the press conference was over was a little harsh. Too much rush to judgment in this country. As far as whether he's telling the truth or not, I have no clue."