Clemens, Channeling Bonds, Tortures Us, Truth: Commentary by Scott Soshnick
Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) -- So far Roger Clemens has been free to deny, deny, deny. Looking disingenuous is about the only consequence of his defiant assertion that great pitching and superhuman longevity were the result of nothing more than hard work and dedication.
The Clemens-is-clean routine soon may come with serious consequences.
The seven-time Cy Young Award winner has repeatedly attacked former Senator George Mitchell's illuminating report on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. He also labeled as a liar -- and filed suit against -- Brian McNamee, the trainer who, under threat of jail time, told Mitchell that he, on several occasions, injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone.
McNamee told Mitchell that he -- and here's where things get sticky for Clemens -- also injected Clemens's Yankee teammate Andy Pettitte, who has since admitted taking HGH in order to recover more quickly from injury.
It's fair to ask why McNamee would be telling the truth about Pettitte and making up tales about Clemens, who, when it comes to legacy, has more to lose than any other player mentioned in the Mitchell report.
Clemens, through his attorney, issued a statement denying the use of performance-enhancing drugs. He could have left it at that. He didn't. What followed was another statement via his agent. And then a video on his Web site.
Borrowing From Bonds
He tried to let it all hang out on Sunday night in a chat with Mike Wallace on ``60 Minutes,'' with Clemens saying he did, indeed, receive injections from McNamee, only what McNamee says were steroids and HGH were, in fact, vitamin B-12 and lidocaine. Clemens told Wallace that McNamee's version is ``hogwash.''
``Let me be clear here,'' Clemens said, ``I did not use steroids and human growth hormone, and I've never done so.''
What we've got is disgraced slugger Barry Bonds all over again. In essence, Clemens is saying that if he did take steroids he didn't know he was taking steroids, the same line Bonds has used.
``He's playing a very dangerous game by going after his accuser in such a high profile way,'' says Matt Traub, a crisis management expert with Dan Klores Communications in New York.
Dangerous, indeed, and here's why: The Rocket, as he's known, has riled some pretty powerful folks, the kind who issue subpoenas.
Last week, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform invited Clemens to raise his right hand and tell the truth about the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball.
Attracting Attention
And now, according to Newsday, which cites a person familiar with the situation that it didn't identify, Clemens has attracted the attention of Jeff Novitzky, the Internal Revenue Service special agent responsible for 1) the indictment of Bonds on felony charges of perjury and obstruction of justice and 2) an admission of steroid use by track star Marion Jones.
Make no mistake, it isn't easy sitting across from Wallace, who has grilled, among others, Louis Farrakhan, Lyndon Johnson, Manuel Noriega and, the one that sticks out most in my mind, the Ayatollah Khomeini.
Nevertheless, there are no risks in lying to him.
Fibbing before Congress, or to Novitzky, should he get a crack at Clemens, can land you behind bars. Clemens said he intends to appear before lawmakers, who will hear from baseball and union officials, as well as players, next week.
``I'm going to Congress and I'm telling the truth,'' a testy Clemens said at a press conference yesterday, at one point taking a verbal poke at the assembled media by asking if it was OK for him to drink water.
McGwire Repeat
Clemens, you have to suspect, wants to avoid a repeat of Mark McGwire's pathetic performance before Congress in 2005, the one where baseball's Paul Bunyan took what became referred to as the fourth-and-a-half amendment. McGwire wouldn't answer questions about his alleged steroid use, instead, again and again, meekly telling lawmakers he wasn't interested in talking about his past.
Frankly, watching Saturday night's debate among the presidential hopefuls in New Hampshire makes it painfully obvious that Congress has more important things to do than worry about baseball and steroids.
Since lawmakers are already involved, though, they might as well get the truth.
Says Traub, the crisis management expert, of Clemens, ``if he continues this approach, unless there's some concrete evidence clearing him, he'll be remembered for and defined by his transgressions first and his achievements second. Just like Barry Bonds.''
Clemens yesterday played a recorded telephone conversation with McNamee, who never once said he lied to Mitchell.
So now all that's left is for Clemens to sit before the committee, raise his flamethrower of a right hand and swear to tell the truth. All while knowing his words, for the first time, come with consequences more severe than appearing disingenuous.
Last Updated: January 8, 2008 00:19 EST |
