In 2008, Roger Clemens sat before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that were investigating steroid use in baseball and said, “I have never taken steroids or HGH.”
Three years later, Clemens will have to prove in court that he didn’t use steroids.
Jury selection begins today for the perjury trial against the former MLB pitcher.
On Aug. 19, 2010, a federal grand jury indicted Clemens on six counts – one for obstruction of justice, three for making false statements and two for perjury.
The grand jury said Clemens lied to Congress when he said he never used steroids and the prosecution said they have proof that he lied.
That proof: Clemens former trainer Brian McNamee.
McNamee, a former strength coach for the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, told federal investigators, George Mitchell and members of U.S. Congress that he injected Clemens with illegal performance-enhancing drugs. He also gave investigators syringes and gauze that he said were used to inject Clemens with PEDs in 2001 or 2002, evidence that is expected to contain Clemens’ DNA.
Many believe that McNamee is the key witness in this perjury case against Clemens because of the evidence he can provide during the trial.
But I beg to differ.
I believe the key witness in this case is Clemens former teammate and buddy Andy Pettitte.
I say that because everyone knows that McNamee’s credibility will come into question. McNamee is a former police officer who got into trouble for letting a criminal escape, and when he was a trainer for the Yankees he lied to police during a rape investigation.
So the defense will have a good ol’ time cross-examining McNamee.
But that won’t be the same with Pettitte.
Pettitte is known as a sincere, truthful, straight up guy. You can almost call him a golden boy. And that was proven when Pettitte himself admitted that he used performance-enhancing drug after the infamous “Mitchell Report” was released in 2007. (Clemens and Pettitte were both mentioned in the report for using steroids).
Pettitte testified to committee members that Clemens discussed using HGH with him and that they both received it from McNamee.
During the hearing, Clemens denied the allegation and said that Pettitte “misremembered” their conversation saying that his wife, Debbie, had used the HGH and that Pettitte must have misunderstood him.
Pettitte apologized during a press conference for using steroids and breaking baseball rules and was forgiven by all because of his honesty. He never faced the scrutiny the Clemens, Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire went through because he was a man and told the truth.
Do I believe Roger “The Rocket” Clemens used steroids…..yes.
Roger lied about taking steroids because he was trying to protect his legacy and not mess up his chances on being elected in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was arrogant enough to believe that he could get away with lying because he was the great Roger Clemens.
But by lying, Clemens made his legacy worse. Even if he is found not guilty of lying, people will still believe that he did do it. Just ask Casey Anthony.
If Pettitte is called to testify and again say that Clemens used performance-enhancing drugs then it’s over for “The Rocket” because the jury will probably believe Pettitte before they believe Clemens.