Editing Roger Clemens (section)

=== {{anchor|SteroidUseControversy}} Steroid use accusations ===
In [[José Canseco]]'s book, ''[[Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big]]'', Canseco suggested that Clemens had expert knowledge about steroids and suggested that he used them, based on the improvement in his performance after leaving the Red Sox. While not addressing the allegations directly, Clemens stated: "I could care less about the rules [sic]" and "I've talked to some friends of his and I've teased them that when you're under house arrest and have ankle bracelets on, you have a lot of time to write a book."<ref>{{cite news|title=Clemens Had a Fountain of Youth in Vioxx|first=Selena|last=Roberts|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/19/sports/baseball/19roberts.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 19, 2005|access-date=July 15, 2011}}</ref>

[[Jason Grimsley]] named Clemens, as well as [[Andy Pettitte]], as a user of [[performance-enhancing drugs]]. According to a 20-page search warrant affidavit signed by IRS Special Agent [[Jeff Novitzky]], Grimsley told investigators he obtained amphetamines, anabolic steroids and human growth hormone from someone recommended to him by former Yankees trainer [[Brian McNamee]]. McNamee was a personal strength coach for Clemens and Pettitte, hired by Clemens in 1998.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2006/10/01/clemens_named_in_affidavit/|title=Clemens named in affidavit|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=October 1, 2007|access-date=June 11, 2007|first1=Lance|last1=Pugmire|first2=Tim|last2=Brown}}</ref> At the time of the Grimsley revelations, McNamee denied knowledge of steroid use by Clemens and Pettitte.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071216004702/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/jon_heyman/11/10/mcnamee.trainer/index.html The sixth man] ESPN.com, November 14, 2006</ref> Despite initial media reports, the affidavit made no mention of Clemens or Pettitte.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-12-21 |title=Affidavit: Grimsley names Canseco, 3 others |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3163889 |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=ESPN.com|agency=Associated Press |language=en}}</ref>

However, Clemens's name was mentioned 82 times in the [[Mitchell Report]] on steroid use in baseball.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071212163532/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22189702/ Mitchell Report hits Clemens, other stars hard] MSNBC.com</ref> In the report, McNamee stated that during the 1998, 2000, and 2001 baseball seasons, he injected Clemens with [[stanozolol|Winstrol]]. Clemens's attorney Rusty Hardin denied the claims, calling McNamee "a troubled and unreliable witness" who has changed his story five times in an attempt to avoid criminal prosecution. He noted that Clemens has never tested positive in a steroid test.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071213&content_id=2325308&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb|title=Clemens denies claims in Mitchell Report|work=[[Mlb.com]]|date=December 13, 2007|access-date=December 13, 2007}}</ref> Former U.S. Senator [[George J. Mitchell|George Mitchell]], who prepared the report, stated that he relayed the allegations to each athlete implicated in the report and gave them a chance to respond before his findings were published.

On January 6, 2008, Clemens went on ''[[60 Minutes]]'' to address the allegations. He told [[Mike Wallace]] that his longevity in baseball was due to "hard work" rather than illegal substances and denied all of McNamee's assertions that he injected Clemens with steroids, saying it "never happened".<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/clemens-vehemently-denies-steroid-use/ Clemens Vehemently Denies Steroid Use]  CBSNews.com, January 6, 2008</ref> On January 7, Clemens filed a defamation lawsuit against McNamee, claiming that the former trainer lied after being threatened with prosecution.<ref>{{cite news|title=Clemens Files Suit Against Ex-Trainer|first=Duff|last=Wilson|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/sports/baseball/08clemens.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 8, 2007|access-date=July 15, 2011}}</ref> McNamee's attorneys argued that he was compelled to cooperate by federal officials and so his statements were protected. A federal judge agreed, throwing out all claims related to McNamee's statements to investigators on February 13, 2009, but allowing the case to proceed on statements McNamee made about Clemens to Pettitte.

On February 13, 2008, Clemens appeared before a Congressional committee, along with Brian McNamee and swore under oath that he did not take steroids, that he did not discuss HGH with McNamee, that he did not attend a party at José Canseco's where steroids were the topic of conversation, that he was only injected with B-12 and lidocaine and that he never told Pettitte he had taken HGH. This last point was in contradiction to testimony Pettitte had given under oath on February 4, 2008, wherein Pettitte said he repeated to McNamee a conversation Pettitte had with Clemens. During this conversation, Pettitte said Clemens had told him that McNamee had injected Clemens with human growth hormone. Pettitte said McNamee reacted angrily, saying that Clemens "shouldn't have done that."<ref name=tj>[[T.J. Quinn|Quinn, T.J.]] [https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3763302 "In court of public opinion, a Clemens verdict: Game over."] ''[[ESPN.com]]'',
December 12, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2017.</ref>

The bipartisan House committee in front of which Clemens appeared, citing seven apparent inconsistencies in Clemens's testimony, recommended that the Justice Department investigate whether Clemens lied under oath about using performance-enhancing drugs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsday.com/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708234924/http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-splott295595820feb29%2C0%2C6818107.story|url-status=dead|title=Newsday &#124; Long Island's & NYC's News Source|archivedate=July 8, 2008|website=Newsday}}</ref> In a letter sent February 27 to Attorney General [[Michael Mukasey]], House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman [[Henry Waxman]] and ranking [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Thomas M. Davis|Tom Davis]] said Clemens's testimony that he "never used anabolic steroids or human growth hormone warrants further investigation".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3267163|title=Congress asks DOJ to prove whether Clemens lied under oath|work=ESPN.com|agency=Associated Press|date=February 27, 2008|access-date=March 30, 2012}}</ref>

As a result of the Mitchell Report, Clemens was asked to end his involvement with the Giff Nielsen Day of Golf for Kids charity tournament in Houston that he has hosted for four years. As well, his name has been removed from the Houston-based Roger Clemens Institute for Sports Medicine and will be renamed the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-12-28 |title=Houston hospital to remove Clemens' name |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3795313 |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=ESPN.com|agency=Associated Press |language=en}}</ref>

After Washington prosecutors showed "a renewed interest in the case in the final months of 2008", a federal grand jury was convened in January 2009 to hear evidence of Clemens's possible perjury before Congress.<ref>{{cite news|title=Grand Jury Is Convened in Clemens Case|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 12, 2009|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/sports/baseball/13clemens.html|first=Michael S.|last=Schmidt|access-date=April 10, 2010}}</ref> The grand jury indicted Clemens on August 19, 2010, on charges of making false statements to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. The indictment charges Clemens with one count of [[Contempt of Congress|obstruction of Congress]], three counts of making false statements and two counts of perjury in connection with his February 2008 testimony.<ref name=ClemensIndicted/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ievDiRj0aLwyo9hujQPCHowoeBawD9HMNP180|title=Roger Clemens charged with perjury in steroid case|agency=Associated Press|date=August 19, 2010|work=Google News}}{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} </ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/19/AR2010081904125_pf.html|title=Pitching legend Roger Clemens is indicted on charges of lying to a congressional committee|date=August 20, 2010|first1=Dave|last1=Sheinin|first2=Spencer S.|last2=Hsu|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|page=A1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/20/sports/baseball/20clemens.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|title=Clemens Lied to Congress About Doping, Indictment Charges|first=Michael S.|last=Schmidt|date=August 20, 2010|page=A1}}</ref>

His first trial began on July 13, 2011, but on the second day of testimony the judge in the case declared a [[mistrial]] over prosecutorial misconduct after prosecutors showed the jury prejudicial evidence they were not allowed to.<ref name="Theatlant"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Judge declares mistrial in Roger Clemens perjury case| url=https://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-clemens-mistrial-20110714,0,1724711.story|last=Serrano|first=Richard A.|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=July 14, 2011|access-date=July 14, 2011}}</ref>  Clemens was subsequently retried. The verdict from his second trial came in on June 18, 2012. Clemens was found not guilty on all six counts of lying to Congress in 2008, when he testified that he never took performance-enhancing drugs.<ref name="usatoday1">Brady, Erik. [http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2012/06/roger-clemens-verdict/1?csp=breakingnews#.Wg97XEpKuM8 "Roger Clemens acquitted on all counts: 'You are free to go.'"] ''[[Usatoday.com]]'', July 18, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2017.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Roger Clemens Not Guilty of Lying to Congress|url=http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2012/06/roger-clemens-not-guilty-of-lying-to-congress.html|date= June 18, 2012|publisher=American Lawyer Media|work=BLT: The Blog of Legal Times|first1=Mike|last1=Scarcella|first2= Zoe|last2=Tillman|access-date=June 19, 2012}}</ref>

In January 2016, after Clemens once again fell short of the votes required for election into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]], former major-league star [[Roy Halladay]] tweeted "No Clemens no Bonds" as part of a message indicating no [[performance-enhancing substance]] users should be voted into the Hall. Clemens countered by accusing Halladay of using amphetamines during his playing career.<ref name="yahoo">{{cite news|last=Fehr|first=Israel|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/roger-clemens-fires-back-at-halladay-s-no-ped-users-in-hall-tweet-163622779.html|website=sports.yahoo.com|title=Roger Clemens fires back at Roy Halladay, says PED dig was asinine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108204002/https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/roger-clemens-fires-back-at-halladay-s-no-ped-users-in-hall-tweet-163622779.html |archive-date=January 8, 2016 |access-date=November 23, 2017}}</ref>