Perjury charges bring dark era to forefront
He was once one of Major League Baseball’s greatest stars, his Hall of Fame credentials unquestioned. Now Roger Clemens is simply trying to avoid going to prison. He faces charges of perjury, making false statements and obstruction of Congress for his 2008 testimony before a congressional committee investigating performance-enhancing drug use in baseball.
Clemens’ federal trial begins in U.S. District Court on Wednesday morning in the District. Prosecutors hope to rely on testimony from an array of former Clemens teammates and associates, including lead witness Brian McNamee, a longtime friend and trainer who says he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs and human growth hormone. Clemens, a right-handed pitcher who won seven Cy Young Awards during a brilliant 24-year career, has long denied such drug use and said so under oath during a Feb. 5, 2008, deposition before House Government Reform Committee staffers and then again in front of the full committee eight days later.
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The trial, which could last up to six weeks, again pulls baseball back to one of its darkest eras. The performance-enhancing drug scandals of the past decade tainted sacred records and brought into question competitive fairness on the playing field. A special report by former Sen. George Mitchell named 89 current or retired big league ballplayers, including Clemens, who may have used steroids or human growth hormone during their careers.
“It’s very sad what’s going on with Roger Clemens because a lot of this was brought on by himself,” said former major league pitcher Mike Krukow, now a television analyst for the San Francisco Giants. “We’ve gone through this steroid era, and unfortunately there are lingering subplots that remind us of the taint that we all went through in this great game. … We’ve seen some really good stories around baseball going into the All-Star break, and yet in the middle of our time — of baseball’s time — we’re going to be reminded of what we’re all trying to forget.”
Clemens faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if convicted on all six charges and up to a $1.5 million fine. Federal prosecutors have a checkered history of convicting professional athletes on perjury and obstruction charges relating to drug use. A similar trial for former San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds led to a conviction in April on just one count of obstruction of justice, but a mistrial was declared on three other charges thanks to a deadlocked jury.
Clemens retired after the 2007 season. He played for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Houston Astros and pitched in six World Series. Clemens finished his career with a 354-184 record and a 3.12 ERA. Only two pitchers in baseball history have struck out more batters (4,672). But that reputation is in tatters now thanks to the performance-enhancing drug use allegations and upcoming trial. And his sport’s compliance in allowing its players to abuse those drugs again takes center stage.
In a pretrial hearing Tuesday, Judge Reggie Walton declared his hesitance to allow Clemens’ former teammates to testify or allow jurors to hear about rape allegations made against McNamee in 2001. Jury selection begins Wednesday morning.
“It may be the last major court case — that remains to be seen — but it’s not the end of the [steroids] story because baseball is more dependent on history and records and generational comparisons than any other sport,” NBC broadcaster Bob Costas said. “I’ve been about as outspoken about steroids as anybody has been, but I love the game, and I’d like to see it get past it and just be able to focus on all that’s appealing about it. … But I’m afraid we’re not going to be able to do that because inevitably it’s going to come up in some of these conversations.”
