Roger Clemens Indictment: A Teaching Moment For Wall Street

(MoneyWatch)  A Federal Grand Jury has indicted seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens for allegedly lying to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. The charges come two and half years after Clemens testified under oath. The famed pitcher now faces charges of obstruction of Congress, making false statements and perjury.

Friends, we may have a teaching moment here, even though these are charges, not a conviction. But if the allegations hold, it may be yet another example when would have been better to (a) not lie under oath (never a good idea, just ask Martha Stewart); (b) quickly admit the transgression (ahem, Wall Street executives and Toyota); and (c) become the national spokesperson who underscores the perils of the bad thing you did.

I may be crazy, but I always thought that had Clemens, A-Rod, McGwire and the rest of the pumped up knuckle heads, had come out early and decisively about steroids, they would have been off. Americans could probably hear something like this:

"I did something wrong and there's no excuse for it. Yes, I wanted to be the best and yes, others were doing it, but I realize now, that it was just plain stupid. I now face real consequences, including fines damage to my reputation and perhaps exclusion from the Hall of Fame. But that's the deal in this world: when you screw up, there is a price to pay. I will pay that price and do the best I can to educate players and fans alike about how destructive steroids are. I am sorry and will work hard to regain your trust."

This speech is perfect for the masters of the universe on Wall Street -- just substitute "toxic mortgage" or "CDO" for steroids. And come to think about it, it works pretty well for Alan Greenspan (use "easy monetary policy") or Congress (use "deregulation") too.

It's never easy admitting your misdeeds, especially in public. But we are human beings, who are flawed. Sometimes the best we can do is to stand up, acknowledge what happened and trust that our families, friends and the public will eventually forgive. A teaching moment, courtesy of Roger Clemens.