Clemens Vehemently Denies Steroid Use

Tells Mike Wallace Trainer Only Injected Legal Drug

(CBS)  "The next season, 2001. It's from the Mitchell Report, quote, 'According to McNamee, Clemens advised him in August of 2001 that he was again ready to use steroids. And shortly thereafter, McNamee injected Clemens with a steroid on four to five occasions at Clemens’ apartment,'" Wallace reads.

"Yeah. Never happened," Clemens replies.

"In two of the three years that McNamee claims that he injected you - ’98 and 2001 - you won 20 games and the Cy Young Award as the American League's best pitcher," Wallace says.

"I won-in 1997, I won the Cy Young Award. 2004 when he supposedly, I wasn't doing it," Clemens says.

"Yeah, but these are the years in which McNamee claims that he injected you," Wallace points out.

"It didn't happen. It didn't happen," Clemens insists. "It just didn't happen."

So while Clemens was his league's best pitcher during two of the alleged steroid years, he was also his league's best the year before McNamee says injections began, and three years after McNamee says he stopped giving Clemens steroids.

"Why didn't I keep doing it if it was so good for me? Why didn't I break down? Why didn't my tendons turn to dust?" Clemens asks. "That's all it's good for. It's a quick fix. I don't believe in that. I don't do it."

Clemens says he was shocked and angry when he first heard what McNamee had said. And he says he still is.

Clemens says he didn't know ahead of time what was going to be in the Mitchell Report, and says McNamee didn't tell him a word.

But he did ask Clemens for a favor just a few days before the Mitchell Report came out. "He e-mails me and asks me where all the good fishing equipment is down at Cabo that I bought so he can go fishing. Thank you very much. I said, 'Have a good time, go fishing,'" Clemens explains. "Doesn't say a word that you, that you know I'm fixing to bury you with all these accusations and what do we do about it. Didn't say a word about it. That's what pisses me off."

Asked why he didn't speak to Mitchell's investigators, Clemens says, "I listened to my counsel. I was advised not to. A lot of the players didn't go down and talk to him."

"But if I wouldda known what this man, Brian McNamee, had said in this report, I would have been down there in a heartbeat to take care of it," he adds.

"George Mitchell says he believes McNamee and this is why: McNamee got caught up in a federal steroids investigation, and the federal prosecutors agreed not to charge him if he told the truth about his involvement with steroids. But they would charge him if he gave any false information. So Mitchell says McNamee had strong incentives to tell the truth," Wallace says. "What did McNamee gain by lying?"

"Evidently not going to jail," Clemens says.

"Jail time for what?" Wallace asks.

"Well, I think he's been buying and movin' steroids," Clemens says.

Clemens says he learned that from the Mitchell Report, which also mentioned his fellow Yankee, pitcher Andy Pettitte, who also trained under McNamee. McNamee said he'd injected Pettitte twice with human growth hormone. After the report came out, Pettitte confirmed that McNamee had given him two HGH shots to recover from an elbow injury.

[jbryant793]

I find it very interesting that the trainer told the truth about everybody but Roger.

[harunksteve]

Baseball took their time recognizing public opinion of steroid use - they decided to ban it - I do not want Congress getting tied up in Baseball, let pro-ball make their rules and go from here - as far as roger and the hall of fame, he isn''t even in and all I know is that he does not want to wear a Boston uniform

[raine_man200]

its interesting to see roger and his lawyer say they will talk to this government committee as he has a law suit pending against his former trainer... hummmmmmmm sorry cant answer that question as it will affect the outcome of a upcoming court case. and ..... i also will note that most steroid using people that are accused all say "who me i''m innocent", just ask any person who has a finger pointed at em.. they''ll tell you that they are innocent and low and behold they have used steroids........

Recently there was a person who finally admitted using steroids and she lost her medals but when it was first brought up by someone way back when.......didnt that remind you a bit like this episode and i can still remember ben johnson... fastest man in the world ..yup ran like a stallion in heat.. say "who me..not me i never took any enhancing drugs".........
so please when names are brought forward and the public hears em.. we are usually the last to hear the talk.. itd be interesting to hear honest athletes be asked what they have heard.. but then the union wouldnt want that ..is this making any sense?

I''m amazed that Mike Wallace didn''t ask Roger Clemens why he had asked his trainer, not his physician, to inject him with Lidocaine, and B12. Who would you want providing and administrating injectable substances into you - a trainer, or a physician?

[egprescott]

I''ve been a Red Sox fan for as about 37 years, born and raised 15 min. from Fenway Park. When Clemens was with them, I thought he was the most arrogant player we''d ever had. Today though, his arrogance doesn''t make him guilty until proven innocent. Personally, although I''ve never liked him, I believe him. More so, I believe in the American Justice System - Innocent until proven guilty.

[zibbydot-2009]

McNamee is a narcissist guilty of pushing illegal drugs. By definition he is the most extreme form of a risk taker at the expense of others credibility. We think his freedom depended on ''the truth''. For McNamee it is his self preservation at all cost that hung in the balance and lead to the report. His motivation to target Clemens and other players is nothing more than a game of deflection. He is too arrogant to believe he could actually go to prison, he just needed to cleverly organize his play on the legal system and public in a way that would redeem his credibility, all the while someone else the center of negative attention. A narcissist primary motivation is to be the one revered, and McNamee certainly accomplished that with his self titled report, how fitting.
McNamee has nothing to lose and everything to gain with this illusion. He has had great satisfaction toying with Clemens, the other players and the public at large. He is living the narcissist dream.

[bookmark440]

It comes down to credibility. I lived in Boston during Clemens'' entire run. Every season, there were nasty incidents involving Roger which don''t get national press. Things like going to a California golf course with three buddies during a West coast road trip and making a scene because they wouldn''t comp him AND his buddies with free golf. But when he''s asked about these things, he always denies or deflects and blames the other guy. Take the 1986 World Series ''Bill Buckner'' game. People forget that Clemens took himself out of that game then denied it later. The person he called a liar then was John McNamara, one of the most honorable and respected coaches in the league. That''s his pattern. And this assertion that he has ''always'' worked hard, the hardest working guy in baseball is just false. From ''93-''96 in Boston, he showed up at spring training overweight and out-of-shape. From 1993 through July,1996, he was 34-36 with an ERA of 4.00. He was 4-10 through July/96 when he suddenly realizes that he''s a free agent at the end of the season and pitches an unreal Aug (4-1. 1.85 ERA). So, I basically think the guy is a scum-bag with no credibility.

I don''t know anything about Brian McNamee at all. But I do know that the ONLY way he could blow his immunity was to lie, in which case he goes directly to jail. My guess is that Clemens treated him like garbage the same way he treats everybody else and that he didn''t hestitate to rat him out.

[karenpeterse]

As a person who was wrongfully accused of baseless lies and falsehoods in the workplace, I am sympathetic to the pain Roger Clemens has endured, and the helpless feeling of not being able to defend oneself against such allegations. I hope he fights back with a vengeance and clears his name. He deserves better, and so did I. Doesn''t ''innocent until proven guilty'' mean anything?
Karen Petersen
Former Manager, Honolulu Office
Western Temporary Services

[enoll6]

All of you idiots that keep asking for this polygraph apparetly are unaware that they are complletely unreliable and do not prove a thing. We will probably never know the the truth about what happened but until there is proof other than one guy accusing another there is no point in debating this issue any further. The man is innocent util there is some sort of proof or coroborating evidence or witness. I am sure if he did take hgh or steroids he did nont talk about it with anyone.

As for the other overly inteligent statement of cheating because he used painkillers to play through injuries all athletes do this for instance Big Papi and his shoulder all season so please get a clue!!!

[amainer]

Here I am a Red Sox fan, and now your telling me Major League Baseball bites again. I was kind of liking it where it was. Thanks, Senator Mitchell from Maine. "He said she said". Anybody got any test results?

[amainer]

Mr. Wallace, those were fair and tough questions, and Mr. Clemens, you did well to stay calm. Here''s a question for Major League Baseball, so aptly asked by Mr Clemens: Whom do I sue? My son is 14. I''ve bought packs of baseball cards for him since he was born, about one pack a day, all different brands. (Really, the only investment I have, and thought it was relatively safe) We open the packs, see who the new guy is, put the Clemens cards, etc. in sleeves and top loads. The collection contains 200 Clemens cards, 200 Bonds cards, 200 Arod cards, and on and on,everybody that''s been in the game for the last 15 years or so, rookies included. Everything is pretty much gem mint. Now they are worthless. Here''s what bugs me...At what point will MLB step up to the plate and admit they dropped the ball on testing. Show me a Roger Clemens positive test for steroids or not, not a guy trying to stay out of jail by making a claim. Do these guys get tested for steroid use, or not! Where''s the positive tests! Who else is on "the list"? ARod''s pretty big and talented, and we have alot of good Arod cards. Maybe he''s on "the list". Or, how bout Veritek. Rumors abound. My $15,000 card investment over 15 years was supposed to be something with worth when my son grows up. As this steroid investigation continues, we look at the cards differently now. The hero part becomes pretty blurry. The investment part becomes panic. MLB, I want my money back. You can have the cards, except the Clemens cards.

[ii01413]

What Mike Wallace forgot to disclose is that Mike is a Yankee fan. When Mike attends the games at Yankee stadium he sits in George Steinbrenner''s Box seats.

Mike has been a lot more aggressive interviewing people when he wants to get at the truth. Mike didn%u2019t do the follow up questions that mike usually does to get at the truth.

Why didn%u2019t Mike Wallace ask Roger if McNamee is a liar?????????? , Yes or No
Roger never answered the question why McNamee did not lie about Andy Pettitte but according to Roger lied about Roger????

[ii01413]

What Mike Wallace forgot to disclose is that Mike is a Yankee fan. When Mike attends the games at Yankee stadium he sits in George Steinbrenner''s Box seats.

Mike has been a lot more aggressive interviewing people when he wants to get at the truth. Mike didn%u2019t do the follow up questions that mike usually does to get at the truth.

Why didn%u2019t Mike Wallace ask Roger if McNamee is a liar?????????? , Yes or No
Roger never answered the question why McNamee did not lie about Andy Pettitte but according to Roger lied about Roger????

[joehat1961]

allUNknowing - Obviously you didn''t read the Clemens portion of the Mitchell Report. If you did, you''d have seen this comment:

"Toward the end of the road trip which included the Marlins series, or shortly after the Blue Jays returned home to Toronto, Clemens approached McNamee and, for the first time, brought up the subject of using steroids. Clemens said he was not able to inject himself, and he asked for McNamee''s help."

Clemens approached McNamee. He did so after coming back from Florida, the same trip that he visited Jose Canseco and had a discussion with him about "stacking and cycling" steroids. You can read more about it in the report or in Canseco''s book.

[allunknowing]

Most athletes do whatever their trainer tells them to do to stay in peak condition. Why would a trainer to some of the biggest stars in MLB advise AND OFFER the players to take steroids and growth hormones?

McNammee is the real guilty party, the FBI even said he was guilty. But they let him go if he confessed up the names of the BIG stars, so the LAWYERS could seek out some BIG BUCKS. How much money could they get from McNammee? lol, he''s a trainer... not much money there.

We live in a fuhcked up country.

[btuff1]

Clemens and Wallace make a good pair, unbelievable and unbelievably bad.

[woodjd42]

I watched Roger Clemens on the show and think it was laughable. I don''''t care if he took steroids 10 years ago. I am more shocked he would make a statement "after what he has done for baseball". It is what baseball has done for him. No player will ever be bigger than the game.


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Posted by job1966

Now that is something I just didn''t think about. However I could not agree more with your comment.

[job1966]

I watched Roger Clemens on the show and think it was laughable. I don''t care if he took steroids 10 years ago. I am more shocked he would make a statement "after what he has done for baseball". It is what baseball has done for him. No player will ever be bigger than the game.

[woodjd42]

juwboy

I am not disputing the truthfulness of Clinton. He was a very good liar. However I still say the masters of lying are bush/chaney.

[juwboy]

woodjd42:

I disagree about the Clintons lying.

However, they are masters of making truthful statements which mislead the listener.

It''s best illustrated with an example.

During the 1992 campaign, the Clintons were interviewed on 60 Minutes.

Steve Croft asked, "Isn''t it true that you had a 12-year affair with Gennifer Flowers?". Bill Clinton responded, "No, it''s not true".

It was common knowledge that Bill Clinton had a multi-year affair with Ms Flowers, but he wouldn''t have been lying if:

(a) the affair lasted 11 years and 10 months

or

(b) the affair ended more than 12 years after it began, but there was a 2-year period in the middle when they never saw each other

or

(c) ..........

That is why questions to the Clintons have to be very precise so they don''t leave an opening for them to mislead. However, the questions are always too vague.