Ex-Trainer: Roger Clemens Called Me a Liar
Sues, claiming star defamed him
By TOM HAYS
Updated 9:15 AM EDT, Sat, Aug 1, 2009
Roger Clemens' former personal trainer sued him Friday over allegations of steroid use, claiming the Major League Baseball star ruined his reputation by branding him a liar.
The defamation lawsuit filed in federal court in Brooklyn alleges Clemens launched an "intense and coordinated public relations offensive'' against Brian McNamee after the trainer told federal investigators and Congress that he injected Clemens more than a dozen times with steroids and human growth hormone from 1998 through 2001.
In his own testimony and interviews, the seven-time Cy Young Award winner has repeatedly denied using performance-enchancing drugs.
"Rather than acknowledging the truth of McNamee's allegations, Clemens waged a defamatory public relations campaign against McNamee,'' the suit says. "Clemens' campaign ... was intended to deceive the public and Congress into falsely believing that McNamee is a liar.''
The lawsuit quotes Clemens saying in a YouTube video in 2007 that McNamee "did not inject steroids into my body either when I played in Toronto for the Blue Jays or the New York Yankees.'' It also cites an interview with ESPN in May in which Clemens, when asked about McNamee, responded that it was a case of "somebody out there that is really crawling up your back to make a buck.''
The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, claims Clemens' statements have "humiliated McNamee, destroyed his reputation, both personally and professionally, and caused him severe emotional distress.''
The former pitcher's attorney, Rusty Hardin, said the suit wouldn't hold up in court.
"I mean, think about it,'' Hardin said. "Essentially, we have a lawsuit saying (McNamee's) reputation was harmed by saying, 'No, you, you did not give me illegal drugs.'''
Clemens is under investigation by a federal grand jury in Washington that is trying to determine whether he lied when he told a congressional committee in 2008 that he had not used steroids.
He has a pending defamation claim against McNamee in a Houston court.
Copyright Associated Press
First Published: Aug 1, 2009 8:04 AM EDT on NBC New York
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