Clemens fires back on "60 Minutes"

BY KAT O'BRIEN | kat.obrien@newsday.com

January 7, 2008

In an appearance on '60 Minutes,' Roger Clemens denied using steroids, saying former trainer Brian McNamee injected him with "Lidocaine and vitamin B-12" only. (Photo courtesy CBS News / "60 Minutes" / January 6, 2008)

HOUSTON - Roger Clemens fired back at the allegations of steroid use against him, denying ever using any type of performance-enhancing drugs in an interview with Mike Wallace that aired on "60 Minutes" last night.

Clemens said of the Mitchell Report allegations by his former trainer, Brian McNamee, who had said he injected Clemens with steroids: "It never happened. It never happened ... If I had all these needles and these steroids and all these drugs, where did I get them, where is the person that gave them to me? Please come forward."

The 45-year-old righthander, who has won seven Cy Young Awards and has 354 victories, said he is angry that so many people have taken McNamee's allegations as fact.

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

Beginning in the 2003 season, Clemens has talked about retiring, only to wind up pitching again. Last night, in an interview that was taped in his Houston-area home Dec. 28, Clemens said retirement might be real this time.

All of the questioning of his accomplishments, Clemens said, has worn on him: "If I had to sit here and tell you right now, I would say yes ... You'll never see me pitch again."

Clemens said he was stunned at McNamee's allegations. Yet as Newsday reported yesterday, Clemens and McNamee had an hour-long phone conversation Friday night. A source said the government is investigating witness tampering with regard to that call.

When George Mitchell asked to interview him before the Dec. 13 release of the Mitchell Report, Clemens declined. McNamee had told Mitchell he injected Clemens with steroids and HGH about 16 to 21 times during 1998, 2000 and 2001 - before players and owners agreed to ban illegal performance-enhancing substances. Clemens said if he had known about those allegations, he would have met with Mitchell.

"If I would have known what this man Brian McNamee said in this report, I would have been down there in a heartbeat," Clemens said.

McNamee, a former Blue Jays and Yankees trainer and personal trainer of Clemens, also accused Andy Pettitte - a close friend of Clemens - of using human growth hormone on two to four occasions in 2002. Pettitte later admitted having done so, an admission that many believe gives credence to McNamee's allegations against Clemens.

"I had no knowledge of what Andy was doing," Clemens said. "Andy's case is totally separate. I was shocked to learn about Andy's situation, had no idea about it."

Clemens will meet with reporters today in a downtown Houston news conference. He also has been asked to testify before Congress Jan. 16. He did not deny that McNamee had given him injections but said they were simply the painkiller lidocaine and vitamin B-12.

Wallace asked, "Never a human growth hormone?"

Clemens: "Never."

Wallace: "Never testosterone?"

Clemens: "Never."

Wallace: "Never anabolic steroids?"

Clemens: "Never."

Wallace: "Swear?"

Clemens: "Swear."

In the interview, Clemens indicated he does not believe steroids help a player in the long run. He also said that if he had taken all the things McNamee accused him of, "I should have a third ear coming out of my forehead, I should be pulling tractors with my teeth. It never happened. It didn't happen. It didn't happen. It just didn't happen."

He also railed against those who regulate the drug Vioxx, an arthritis medication later shown to cause increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Clemens said: "I was eating Vioxx like it was Skittles, and now these people who are supposedly regulating it tell me it's bad for my heart."

Clemens left open the possibility that he might submit to a lie detector test. He also said he is looking into the possibility of a lawsuit but is not sure it is worth the cost and the "headache."

A lawyer for McNamee, Richard Emery, has said McNamee might sue Clemens. Emery said last night: "Congress must be salivating at the bit to get this guy in front of them. Any reasonable questioning will break them down. He's pitched himself into a corner. I can't imagine how any lawyer would allow his client to go on '60 Minutes' and lie like this."

Clemens' attorney, Rusty Hardin, told The Associated Press: "Anyone not persuaded by that interview is not a well person."

Staff writer Wallace Matthews contributed to this story.