ROGER: I’M DONE
An angry Roger Clemens told Mike Wallace he will never pitch again in an interview aired last night on “60 Minutes.”
The 45-year-old pitcher defended himself against allegations he used steroids and human growth hormone, but said he is so frustrated he is through with baseball.
“I understand that as a public person, you’re gonna take some shots,” Clemens said. “The higher you get up on the flagpole, the more your butt shows? And I understand all that. But I’m tired of answering to ’em. That’s why I will not ever play again. I don’t want to answer to it. I want to slide off and be just a citizen.”
When pressed by Wallace, Clemens asserted he is done pitching.
“You’ll never see me pitch again,” said Clemens, who has retired before several times only to return.
The interview was filmed more than a week ago at Clemens’ home outside Houston. The former Yankees star will face more questions today in a news conference in downtown Houston.
Clemens has been dealing with the fallout of the Mitchell Report for nearly a month. His former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, told former Sen. George Mitchell that he injected Clemens with steroids and HGH.
In last night’s interview, Clemens clearly was angered that the public has accepted the Mitchell Report as fact.
“I’m angry that, that what I’ve done for the game of baseball and the personal, in my private life, what I’ve done that I, I don’t get the benefit of the doubt,” Clemens said. “The stuff that’s being said, it’s ridiculous.
“It’s hogwash for people to even assume this. Twenty-four, 25 years Mike. You’d think I’d get an inch of respect. An inch. How, how can you prove your innocence?”
McNamee’s lawyer, Earl Ward, said after watching the interview that Rusty Hardin, Clemens’ lawyer, had given his client some bad advice.
“I thought it was a fairly impassioned plea, but it was disingenuous and desperate,” Ward said. “I think Rusty Hardin has done more to put Roger Clemens in jail than any federal prosecutor would be able to. It wasn’t a wise move. Certainly now if he goes before Congress they have a transcript to challenge his credibility.”
Clemens and McNamee have been invited to testify before Congress next week. Clemens said he will say the same thing on Capitol Hill he said to Wallace. Ward said McNamee would wait to see what Clemens says today and next week in front of Congress before deciding about suing Clemens for defamation.
A published report yesterday said Clemens and McNamee spoke by phone Friday, but Ward could not confirm that yesterday.
In the interview, Wallace listed each of the allegations in the Mitchell Report, and Clemens denied each one.
“Never happened,” he said. “Never happened. And if, if, if I have these needles and these steroids and all these drugs, what, where did I get ’em? Where is the person out there gave ’em to me? Please, please come forward.”
The attorneys for Clemens and McNamee have traded verbal barbs for weeks. When asked why McNamee, his trainer of 10 years, would tell Mitchell these things, Clemens was stumped other than speculating he was trying to avoid jail for distributing steroids.
“I don’t know,” Clemens said. “I’m so upset about it, how I treated this man and took care of him.”
Mitchell invited Clemens to speak to him during his investigation, but Clemens declined.
“I listened to my counsel,” he said. “I was advised not to. A lot of the players didn’t go down and talk to him.
“But if I would’ve 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.”
McNamee also named Clemens’ good friend, Andy Pettitte, to Mitchell and said he had injected Pettitte with HGH. Two days after the release of the Mitchell Report, Pettitte admitted it was true, giving McNamee credibility.
“I had no knowledge of what Andy was doing,” Clemens said. “Andy’s case is totally is, is totally separate. I was shocked to learn about Andy’s situation. (I) had no idea about it.”
Roger Clemens stood by his story last night on “60 Minutes,” telling Mike Wallace he never took steroids or HGH, exhibiting anger and surprise at the public’s lack of belief in his denials and suggesting he may consider suing someone for the allegations in the Mitchell Report. Here’s a look at a few of Clemens’ more provocative statements:
‘My body never changed. If he’s putting that stuff up in my body, if what he’s saying which is totally false, if he’s doing that to me, I should have a third ear coming out of my forehead. I should be pulling tractors with my teeth.’
‘I’m angry that, that what I’ve done for the game of baseball and the personal, in my private life, what I’ve done that I, I don’t get the benefit of the doubt. The stuff that’s being said, it’s ridiculous. It’s hogwash for people to even assume this. Twenty four, 25 years Mike. You’d think I’d get an inch of respect. An inch. How, how can you prove your innocence?’
‘And that’s our country, isn’t it? Guilty before innocent. That’s the way our country works now. And then everybody’s talking about sue, sue sue. Should I sue? Well, let me exhaust. Let me, let me just spend. How about, let’s keep spending. But I’m gonna explore what I can do and then I want to see if it’s gonna be worth it, worth all the headache.’
