Q&A with Brian McNamee

Brian McNamee, who testified four years ago that he injected Roger Clemens with steroids, is expected to be one of the government's key witnesses in the former Yankees pitcher's perjury trial, which begins tomorrow in Washington.

A former Yankees assistant strength coach who was the personal trainer to Clemens and Andy Pettitte, McNamee now heads the baseball operations at Long Island Sports Complex in Freeport. These days, the Long Beach resident mostly trains young baseball players through after-school camps.

He also has begun to re-enter the public eye, giving an anti-steroids speech to Nassau guidance counselors last month at Adelphi University. Last week, in advance of the Clemens trial, McNamee agreed to a Q&A with Newsday. McNamee, who also played baseball at Archbishop Molloy and St. John's University, declined to answer questions regarding the perjury trial, Clemens or steroids, citing the judge's gag order.

Give us a sense of what your life has been like these last four years.

I became a very reclusive person. I didn't have the employment I once had and I had to struggle to make ends meet. Hustling and working different jobs. I was working sporadically in terms of training. I also dabbled in trading stocks for eight months . . . As far as right now, I was given a great opportunity at Long Island Sports Complex, which I've been involved with for the last seven, eight months.

Have you ever gotten used to how people react when they find out who you are?

It's almost expected. I was just at Penn Station looking at the lines, looking for the Long Beach track, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a fireman standing next to me, looking at the tracks, too. And he goes, "Hey, you're Brian McNamee." . . . I'm always on guard. I'm looking for that person to be angry, and that has happened. Not much. But mostly they're very supportive, which I appreciate.

How about the parents of the kids you train?

I assume it always will come up. I don't deal with it unless it is asked. I will be honest and answer questions, but mainly from parents. I don't believe an 8-year-old kid should be asking me questions . . . But I am guarded about it. Sometimes I could have made money by training people who want to just say they've been trained by me. I am guarded about that because that does happen.

Why won't you train them?

I don't want to be a bar story. I'm not a bar story. I can't put it any better than that, because that's how I feel. I don't want to train you just so you can go to the bar and say I trained you.

You recently spoke at Adelphi about the need for better steroid education with today's youth, and you said afterward you want to do more of those lectures. Why?

I feel a responsibility because that's a moral thing that I feel with myself. No one is telling me to do it. That's what I feel I need to do. I'm not looking for any praise. I feel, personally, that I have to do it . . . It's rewarding to me in trying to right a wrong, which I'll never be able to do. That's why I want to do it, and plus I love doing it. Everyone wants to do what they're good at and I think I'm good at doing this.

You've gone from training major-leaguers to now kids. How has the transition been?

I miss talking at a professional level with professional athletes. On the flip side, I take the same 12 kids from one week to the next and see how better they've gotten. The money's better on the flip side, but as far as being proud of what you do and sleeping good at night, it's training the kids.