Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
In '60 Minutes' interview, Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
By RONALD BLUM, AP Baseball Writer
January 3, 2008
AP - Jan 3, 4:46 pm EST
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Roger Clemens said former trainer Brian McNamee injected him with the painkiller lidocaine and the vitamin B-12 -- not any performance-enhancing drugs.
In the first excerpts released from the pitcher's interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," which is to be broadcast Sunday night, Clemens maintained the denials he has issued since McNamee implicated him in the Mitchell report on doping in baseball, which was released Dec. 13.
McNamee, a former strength coach for the Blue Jays and Yankees, told Mitchell he personally injected Clemens with steroids in 1998 while they were with Toronto, and with steroids and human growth hormone in 2000 and 2001 while with New York.
"Roger took bunches of his shots over his career, much the way racehorses do, unfortunately," Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said after the excepts were released Thursday.
Clemens issued a video statement on Dec. 23 denying McNamee's accusations and plans to hold a news conference Monday. Clemens did not mention injections of painkillers or vitamins.
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"That short statement didn't go into any details and simply told the public at large he did not take steroids or any other performance-enhancing drugs. That's never been a contention of his," Hardin said.
"The reason he hasn't stepped out personally before now was really our decision, not his, and that was to more deliberately look into how in the world the Mitchell report could have reached what we believe was this totally wrong conclusion before we started talking out. Now we're more comfortable with all of that, and he's going to answer whatever questions they have."
During the CBS interview, recorded last Friday at Clemens' home in Katy, Texas, Clemens was asked whether McNamee had injected him with any drugs.
"Lidocaine and B-12," Clemens responded. "It's for my joints, and B-12 I still take today."
Lidocaine is a local anesthetic that can be used by dentists and in minor surgery. It also is available as part of ointments used to treat skin inflammation.
Clemens told CBS that McNamee's accusation was "ridiculous" and said he "never" used banned substances.
"Swear?" CBS's Mike Wallace asked Clemens.
"Swear," Clemens responded.
Baseball players and owners did not have an agreement to ban steroids until September 2002, and they didn't ban HGH until January 2005.
The Mitchell report states McNamee injected Clemens with substances provided by the pitcher or that McNamee obtained from former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski. In his video statement, Clemens said: "I did not provide Brian McNamee with any drugs to inject into my body. Brian McNamee did not inject steroids or human growth hormones into my body."
McNamee's lawyer, Richard Emery, has threatened to sue the seven-time Cy Young Award winner for defamation.
"I think that this is a lawyers' game, which allows him to try and attempt to say that McNamee didn't know what he was injecting or that at least Clemens didn't know what he was injecting," Emery said.
"It really depends now on how the whole interview goes, and whether he goes after Brian. Look, I don't care whether Clemens used Sodium Pentothal. I don't care if he used strontium 90. My only concern is for Brian's well-being and his future."
Emery said a decision whether to sue won't be made until after the "60 Minutes" interview is broadcast.
"It really depends on what a reasonable person would take away from the entire interview as to whether he's going to damage Brian. And we can't tell until what we see happens on Sunday," Emery said. "But it is fascinating. I think that Hardin and Clemens are responding to the fact that McNamee is going to defend himself aggressively by them trying to parse this closely and issue this statement through CBS. So it's fascinating, and I'm glad to see that they are responding to Brian's notice to them that he is not going to be trashed by them."
When Baltimore's Rafael Palmeiro tested positive for steroids in 2005 and was suspended for 10 days, he said a tainted vial of B-12 given to him by a teammate -- later identified as Miguel Tejada -- might have caused the doping violation.
Emery wouldn't say whether McNamee did inject Clemens with lidocaine and B-12.
"That's much too specific. That evidence has yet to be developed," he said. "There is a ton of evidence that the Mitchell report failed to explore that will corroborate Brian, and so it would be foolhardy for Clemens or Hardin to allow Clemens to trash Brian."
Emery said it was unlikely McNamee would sue CBS. He also hasn't decided whether a suit would be filed in New York state court or federal court.
"Either court in New York would be perfectly acceptable," he said. "No New York jury is going to be hoodwinked by this claim if he ends up defaming Brian."
Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado, a teammate of Clemens on the 1998 Blue Jays, said the pitcher and strength coach didn't appear to be close at the time.
"It wasn't anything more than the usual pitcher and conditioning relationship," he said.
Delgado did find fault with Mitchell's report.
"There's a lot of accusations with not enough evidence," he said.
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Re: Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
I will be honest i might be the only one here who feels this way but here goes...
1) My perspective might be biased because i was a young kid growing up a few hours from Toronto and Rog comming to town was one of the best things that had ever happened to that city since '93.
2) I havent seen any proof...just accusations that so far and i am inclined to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. I hear he is now suing his former trainer...I really hope he is innocent but we really dont know.
3) Just a question cause i honestly dont know...but has any pitcher who has been proven to be using the steroids and HGH had better stats while they were taking it? It looks to me it seems to benefit the hitters much more.
Re: Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
After listening to the Clemens phone call with McNamee...I'm really inclined to believe Clemens.
Re: Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
Re: Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
I don't buy it. Clemens should have come out with that up front: "This story about steroids is bogus. Yes, I was injected by the clubhouse guy, but only with B-12 and lidocaine -- I tried injecting myself, but have you ever tried an injection in your own ass? It's not easy. The guy's a liar, and I'll kick his *** if I see him again."
It gives the appearance that Clemens has changed his story by not coming out with the details until later on. The same way with Bonds, who adamantly denied taking steroids -- then admitted to taking "the cream and the clear" but claiming not to know they were steroids.
--Pet
Re: Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
The whole thing was a setup by Clemons and his lawyer to get mcnamee to change his story. He even tells mcnamee during the call that he doesn't have anyone else listening in, which was a lie, him and his lawyer were taping the whole conversation.
Between this and Dog Chapman I'm not talking to anyone on my cell phone anymore! **** illegal phone tapping.
And I love Fraud-gers comment about not caring if he gets into the HOF, total BS. He's officially retired so who cares whats been said when you were playing, there's only 1 reason left to fight the allegations and thats the HOF. If he doesn't care about the HOF, then why put up such a big fight.
Re: Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
Re: Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
And what doesn't make sense to me is, Mcnamee named 30-40 players(however many it was) and only 1 has come out saying he lied. There have been several who has admitted that he told the truth about them(Clemons best friend for 1), so why would he lie about Fraud-ger.
Re: Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
Quote:
After listening to the Clemens phone call with McNamee...I'm really inclined to believe Clemens.
YES me too :rolleyes: I always record my phone calls & tell the person it isn't recorded....:rolleyes:
Re: Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Reade
Between this and Dog Chapman I'm not talking to anyone on my cell phone anymore! **** illegal phone tapping.
Clemens taping the conversation actually wasn't illegal.
Quote:
And what doesn't make sense to me is, Mcnamee named 30-40 players(however many it was) and only 1 has come out saying he lied. There have been several who has admitted that he told the truth about them(Clemons best friend for 1), so why would he lie about Fraud-ger.
Yeah, that's the only sticking point for me. However, McNamee's being shown to have lied about other things in the past. And it's certainly plausible that the feds said "We think Clemens juiced" and coerced McNamee into giving them a story about Clemens. Wouldn't be the first time the feds got someone to give them a bogus story to save his own butt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FRENCHREDSOX
YES me too I always record my phone calls & tell the person it isn't recorded....
I don't see how that lowers Roger's credibility. He's not going to say, "Yes, Brian, I'm taping the conversation right now."
Clemens repeatedly said to McNamee that he did not use steroids and that he wants everybody to know the truth. McNamee never denied this. He just kept saying, "Tell me what you want me to do."
Honestly, I don't know what to believe, but at this point, I'm more inclined to believe Clemens than McNamee.
Re: Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
Quote:
Clemens taping the conversation actually wasn't illegal.
Still, its a dirty underhanded move. And only because it was in texas. There are only 2 states(Texas, NY) that allow a phone conversation to be recorded without both peoples consent.
Since Fraud-ger wants to kick Mcnamee's *** so bad, as he hinted to in his press conference, lets put them in a room together and the survivor gets his name cleared.
And I hope every HOF voter heard Fraud-gers comment about not giving a **** if he gets into the HOF.
Re: Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
Lidocaine and B-12 laced HGH and Steroids.
Re: Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Reade
Still, its a dirty underhanded move. And only because it was in texas. There are only 2 states(Texas, NY) that allow a phone conversation to be recorded without both peoples consent.
Yep, and Clemesn was in Texas and McNamee was in New York, so, it was legal.
Re: Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
Perhaps it was underhanded, but it was legal. I don't know that it really shifted things in Clemens favor - first for not really answering anything, and secondly for Clemens resorting to subterfuge in the first place. The high moral ground stance he was trying doesn't work anymore...
But at the same time, if he is innocent, then the whole accusation is a backstab - so underhanded phone taping is certainly fair game at that point.
I want to believe Roger is just a true hero of an athlete...and that somehow, his name is the one name that isn't true on the Mitchell report...but that's a hard idea to swallow. I can't see prosecutors threatening Macnamee with jail time, unless he points to Clemens. What's the incentive to bring Clemens down?
Re: Roger Clemens says McNamee injected him with lidocaine and B-12
