Congress pushes back the date of the Major League Baseball Steroids, Human Growth Hormone hearings about the use of performance enhancing supplements and illegal drugs in sports. This spells trouble for Roger Clemens.

Roger Clemens may be rethinking/regretting his decision to launch the public relations campaign about illegal performance enhancing drugs in sport that saw him go on 60 Minutes, file a defamation lawsuit versus his personal trainer Brian McNamee and conduct a press conference in which the pitcher blew his cool and walked out.  As part of his press conference, Clemens’ team played a tape recording of a conversation Clemens had with McNamee – a conversation recorded without McNamee’s knowledge – where Clemens tried to get McNamee to say something that would show the trainer lied to Mitchell’s investigators. 

In the aftermath of the press conference, McNamee’s legal team announced that there was another tape, a tape that recorded an interview conducted by two of Clemens’ lawyers’ private investigators during which they tried to get McNamee to recant his accusations of common performance enhancing drug use.  What’s interesting about this interview is that it was conducted on December 12, a day before the release of the Mitchell Report.  The existence of this tape and the fact that the interview was conducted before the release of the Mitchell Report seems to indicate that Clemens and his peeps knew what McNamee told investigators, which contradicts Clemens’ position that he didn’t know what McNamee had copped to until the report was released.

Whether as a direct result of Clemens’ tactics or due to a combination of factors, Congress has moved the date for the hearings dealing with the issue of performance enhancing supplements, Clemens, Andy Pettitte, McNamee and friends until February 13.  I don’t think that this means good things for Roger.

As a matter of fact, I think Clemens has made things tougher for himself and a lot of other people - anyone even tangentially involved with his illegal drugs in sports case - and especially for active major league baseball players.  Thanks to the Rocket’s bull-in-a-china-shop defense and his behavior of the past week, it appears as if Congress is ratcheting things up to a higher level. 

Clemens and company can’t find too much comfort in seeing Congress coordinating their investigation of illegal drug use in sports with the Justice Department in preparation for this hearing.  As a matter of fact, none of the participants in this hearing will be sleeping well for the next month or so.

Under oath and under the glare of the Congressional spotlight, Clemens will most likely be asked questions about common performance enhancing drugs that he might not want to answer.  Will Roger tell Congress why he continued to employ McNamee after he was involved in a potential rape and illegal drug incident that got McNamee fired from the Yankees in 2001?  Will Pettitte be asked about his relationship with Clemens and the fact that they worked out together with the same trainer?  Will Pettitte be asked if he was aware of what was going on with Clemens and McNamee and will Clemens be asked under oath if he knew Pettitte got HGH and other performance enhancing supplements from their trainer?  Will McNamee shed any light on this relationship?

Thursday afternoon we got more tough talk from Clemens’ lawyer Rusty Hardin, who, in an e-mail to an ESPN radio talk show host, said that McNamee would be perjuring himself if he sticks to his story about illegal drug use while under oath in front of Congress.  But just like everything else that’s come from Clemens’ camp, this statement wasn’t backed up with anything concrete and there’s no reason to think that this is anything but bluster.

Readers have left 4 comments.

No.1 Untitled

Actually the unbelievable part of this story is that Congress is getting involved. I would love to see MLB deal with its dirt (same goes for world cycling), but IMHO this is not a matter for Congress -- any more than, say, widespread lip-syncing by musical performers is. It's just not that important. I can instantly think of a half-dozen things I want Congress to probe and clean up (e.g., warrantless wiretapping) but sports/entertainment just isn't on that list. Anyway, I guess this HGH stuff, though not banned (right?) really can get one in trouble if you don't have a dr.'s prescription.

Submitted by LandruBek, Unregistered • 2008-01-15 13:42:33

No.2 Untitled

the problem here is that like it or not, baseball exists strictly because congress grants it exception from myriad laws,regulations, etc. that allow it to operate as it does and allowed it to become the monopoly that it is.

it's such a public thing, and baseball has screwed up so royally that they've put congress in this position. i agree that congress' time would be better spent on other things, but i like the fact that the baseball types who walk around like kings get a taste of what it's like to have to answer to an even higher authority.

Submitted by sal m, Unregistered • 2008-01-15 14:36:31

No.3 Untitled

I think clemens is a over paid spoiled self centered over rated that is a lier and has taken drugs and is helping to ruin pro sports!!

Submitted by Norm Arseneau, Unregistered • 2008-02-06 19:00:37

No.4 Untitled

Personally I would much rather our Congress people spend their time working on a single payer health care plan or ending the war in Iraq than worrying about whether Roger Clemens or Barry Bonds or anyone else cheated in a baseball league. The ones who are debased by all of this are our representatives in Washington.

Submitted by Guest User, Unregistered • 2008-02-14 14:45:08

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