Roger Clemens Defending Himself

Here's a video of Roger Clemens before he appeared on 60 Minutes. In this video, he absolutely denied having anything to do with steroids or other accusations. Is he telling the truth? Its too early to tell right now. Everything is just speculation, but just in case he tells a different story other then what was stated in the Mitchell Report, here he is on tape denying his usage.

Roger Clemens' Interview On 60 Minutes

This article is from ESPN in regards to Roger Clemens' first interview since being accused of taking steroids:

Roger Clemens might be willing to take a lie-detector test, was "shocked" close friend Andy Pettitte used human growth hormone and, in his first interview since the Mitchell report, said -- again -- that he probably will retire.

Clemens told CBS's "60 Minutes" in the interview, which was to be broadcast Sunday night, that he would have spoken with baseball drug investigator George Mitchell had he been aware former trainer Brian McNamee accused him of using steroids and HGH.

The seven-time Cy Young Award winner, the most prominent player implicated in last month's Mitchell report, steadfastly maintained his innocence and called McNamee's allegations "totally false."

In excerpts of the Dec. 28 interview that were released Thursday, Clemens said McNamee, his former personal trainer, injected him with vitamin B-12 and the painkiller lidocaine. In the full broadcast, Clemens also said he was given an injection of toradol under the supervision of the New York Yankees.

McNamee told Mitchell he injected Clemens with steroids and HGH about 16-to-21 times during 1998, 2000 and 2001 -- before baseball players and owners agreed to ban performance-enhancing substances.

"If he's doing that to me, I should have a third ear coming out of my forehead," Clemens said, according to a transcript released by CBS. "I should be pulling tractors with my teeth."

He said his lawyer advised him not to speak with Mitchell.

"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," Clemens said.

I don't know if I can defend myself. I think people -- a lot of people have already made their decisions.

--Roger Clemens

Only two active players, Jason Giambi and Frank Thomas, spoke with Mitchell, a Boston Red Sox director and a former Senate majority leader.

On Friday, Clemens did speak with McNamee by telephone, an individual close to the situation said, speaking on condition of anonymity because public comments weren't authorized. The conversation first was reported Sunday by Newsday.

The individual would not say what was discussed between the two.

Clemens is scheduled to hold a news conference Monday in Houston, part of his campaign to clear his name. In addition, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has asked Clemens, Pettitte and McNamee to testify under oath at a Jan. 16 hearing.

Former Yankees teammate Chuck Knoblauch, McNamee and former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, who allegedly supplied McNamee with performance-enhancing drugs, also have been asked to testify.

"I don't know if I can defend myself," Clemens said. "I think people -- a lot of people have already made their decisions."

One of the few revelations in the much-hyped interview came when Clemens was asked whether he could conceivably take a lie detector test.

"Yeah," he answered. "I don't know if they're good or bad."

Eighth on the career list with 354 wins, the 45-year-old Clemens told CBS's Mike Wallace he was angered McNamee's accusations have been accepted as truth by some.

"It's hogwash for people to even assume this," Clemens said. "Twenty-four, 25 years, Mike. You'd think I'd get an inch of respect. An inch."

Clemens said the descriptions McNamee gave Mitchell of injections "never happened." McNamee said Clemens asked him to inject him in the buttocks because Clemens did not like belly-button shots he presumably could inject himself.

"If I have these needles and these steroids and all these drugs, what, where did I get 'em?" he said. "Where is the person out there [who] gave 'em to me? Please, please come forward."

McNamee said he obtained the drugs from Radomski or Clemens supplied them.

"Why didn't I keep doing it if it was so good for me? Why didn't I break down? Why didn't my tendons turn to dust?" Clemens said.

Shortly before Mitchell's findings were released Dec. 13, Clemens said McNamee e-mailed him asking where Clemens bought fishing equipment in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, but never brought up the upcoming report.

McNamee told Mitchell he injected Pettitte with HGH in 2002. Pettitte issued a statement saying he took two HGH injections while rehabbing his elbow.

"I had no knowledge of what Andy was doing," Clemens said.

Asked why McNamee would tell the truth about Pettitte and lie about Clemens, Clemens said Pettitte's case was "totally separate."

"I was shocked to learn about Andy's situation," Clemens said. "Had no idea about it."

Clemens also discussed his use of Vioxx, an arthritis medication withdrawn from the market in 2004 because a clinical trial revealed increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

"I was eating Vioxx like it was Skittles," Clemens said. "And now that, now these people who are supposedly regulating it, tell me it's bad for my heart."

Clemens has said he was retired after each of the past four seasons but came back each time, spending three seasons with his hometown Houston Astros and then returning to the Yankees last year. He said "you'll never see me pitch again," but hedged slightly and said "probably."

Clemens wouldn't say what penalty should be assessed on an individual found to have used performance-enhancing drugs.

"I think it's a self-inflicted penalty. They break down quick. It's a quick fix," he said. "They're in and out of the game."

A Preview Of The Interview With Roger Clemens And CBS' "60 Minutes" Has Been Released

Roger Clemens says he was injected with "Lidocaine and B-12" and not steroids or human growth hormone by former trainer Brian McNamee, according to a portion of an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" released Thursday.

"Lidocaine and [vitamin] B-12. It's for my joints, and B-12 I still take today," Clemens told Mike Wallace in the interview, which is scheduled to be shown Sunday night. It is Clemens' first interview since the release of the Mitchell report in December.

In the Mitchell report, McNamee claims to have injected Clemens with steroids in 1998, 2000 and 2001. He said he injected the seven-time Cy Young Award winner with HGH in 2000, according to the report.

According to CBS, Clemens calls the accusation that he used steroids and HGH "ridiculous" and says he "never" used any banned substances. The interview was conducted last Friday at Clemens' home in Katy, Texas, a suburb west of Houston.

Wallace asked Clemens if he swears he didn't use banned substances. "Swear," Clemens responds.

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 is scheduled to hold a news conference on Monday, the day after the interview is broadcast.

Earl Ward, an attorney for McNamee, said his client stands by "everything he said to Senator Mitchell and federal investigators."

"Brian has a master's degree in sports medicine," Ward told ESPN The Magazine's Shaun Assael. "He knows the difference between Lidocaine, B-12 and testosterone. What he injected into Roger Clemens wasn't Lidocaine or B-12. It was testosterone."

Another lawyer for McNamee, Richard Emery, has threatened to sue Clemens 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.''

Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin, told The New York Times his client has nothing to hide.

"I believe a client who's telling the truth should tell the world the truth," he said. Of Clemens' 60 Minutes appearance, Hardin said, "I think [Clemens] expressed himself very emotionally, and it'll give the viewer a chance to look at Roger and make up their mind."

On Thursday, Hardin added: "In his interview with 60 Minutes Roger told the truth. It is that simple. I encourage Mr. McNamee to watch the program."

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.''

Also on Thursday, the New York Daily News reported that Hank Steinbrenner, the New York Yankees' senior vice president, said Clemens will not be back in pinstripes.

"I'm not signing Clemens," Steinbrenner told the Daily News in a telephone interview.

Steinbrenner said the team has Andy Pettitte, who is also mentioned in the Mitchell report and who has admitted using performance enhancing drugs, signed for one season.

"Andy is [signed] for one year and he's only 35 and he knows how to pitch in the big games," Steinbrenner said, according to the Daily News. "Roger does, too, but let's face it, he's going to be 46 [in August].

"Pettitte is just as good with the young pitchers, though Clemens was great with the young kids last year. I don't think Roger is going to come back anyway."

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.

Shortly after the Mitchell report's release, Clemens issued denials both through Hardin and in a video posted on his Web site.

"Let me be clear, the answer is no. I did not use steroids or human growth hormone, and I've never done so," Clemens said in the video, released on Dec. 23. "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."

Baseball players and owners did not have an agreement to ban steroids until September 2002, and they didn't ban HGH until January 2005.

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 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.''

Mike Wallace actually came to my university to give a presentation and I got a chance to meet him. He's a tough, in your face, no-nonsense type of guy. If anyone can dig and claw the truth out of Clemens, my vote would be for Mike Wallace to do it.