NEW YORK — Sounding indignant and defiant in his first interview since his former personal trainer accused him of using steroids, Roger Clemens seemed to set up a confrontation with Brian McNamee in front of Congress if the two testify under oath at a Jan. 16 hearing.
Clemens said during a segment broadcast on CBS’s “60 Minutes” on Sunday night that he might be willing to take a lie-detector test and was “shocked” close friend Andy Pettitte used human growth hormone. He said — again — that he probably will retire.
The seven-time Cy Young Award winner, a fiery look in his eyes and stubble on his face, told CBS’s Mike Wallace that he would have spoken with baseball drug investigator George Mitchell had he been aware McNamee accused him of using steroids and HGH.
Clemens, the most prominent player implicated in last month’s Mitchell report, steadfastly maintained his innocence and called McNamee’s allegations “totally false.”
“If he’s doing that to me, I should have a third ear coming out of my forehead. I should be pulling tractors with my teeth,” Clemens said during the interview, taped Dec. 28 at his home in Katy, Texas.
“I thought it was an impassioned, disingenuous and desperate plea,” said Earl Ward, McNamee’s primary lawyer.
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 said. “I don’t know if they’re good or bad.”
Clemens is scheduled to hold a news conference today 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, heightening the stakes and putting them potentially in legal jeopardy.
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.
Lawyers for Clemens and McNamee have said their clients are willing to testify. Clemens’ attorney, Rusty Hardin, wouldn’t commit to the date.
Richard Emery, another of McNamee’s lawyers, said he would welcome testimony from Clemens.
“If Congress calls him, he pretty much has to take the Fifth, and if he takes the Fifth, nobody will ever believe him again and all this effort has gone down the drain,” Emery said. “And if he doesn’t take the Fifth, it’s very hard to imagine that a prosecutor isn’t going to pursue this. So I think he’s put himself in a terrible corner.”
Clemens said his lawyer advised him not to speak with Mitchell, who spent 20 months on his investigation.
“If I would’ve known what this man, what Brian McNamee (had) said in this report, I would have been down there in a heartbeat to take care of it,” Clemens said.
McNamee told Mitchell he injected Clemens with steroids and HGH about 20 times during 1998, 2000 and 2001 — before players and owners agreed to ban performance-enhancing substances.
