The recording itself was unedited although some media outlets have censored it due to inappropriate language. I watched the press conference on-line via the AP feed and it was uncensored with no bleep-outs or anything.
Cool that answers that then !!! The one thing that bothers me is why Clemens kepts saying " I need someone to tell the truth" Not...." I need YOU to tell the truth" It is so obviously scripted ........ DD
Also, I believe Charlie Pallilo on his radio show stated that the copy of the phone call on their site would be edited for content. Moving on, I do think that Clemens was coached on how to talk with McNamee by his lawyer and advisors. I think Hardin is really taking control of the release of information on Clemens' behalf. Unfortunately, this has helped fuel public perception against his client. If you believe what his lawyer is saying (hard to do, I know), than Rocket was instructed to not make it look like he was tampering with a Federal witness, and that might be why he didn't press him harder to change his story or try and influence him to come out and discount the testimony in the Mitchell Report. One other thing, I believe this is something the media created and then people are just running with. see here 5) By filing a defamation lawsuit against McNamee, will Clemens not have to speak to Congress? Some have wondered whether Clemens' lawsuit will insulate him from appearing before Congress. The answer is no. Pending civil litigation is not a valid basis for refusing to answer questions under oath. If Congress wants to him appear on Jan. 16, he better show up or risk being subpoenaed. Failure to comply a subpoena is grounds for a charge of contempt of Congress and, potentially, incarceration. Clemens does, however, preserve his Fifth Amendment privilege, which protects him from disclosing information under oath that he reasonably believes could be used in, or give rise to, a criminal prosecution of him. If McNamee is telling the truth, Clemens would be faced with three choices while testifying under oath: 1) admit the truth; 2) plead the Fifth; or 3) continue to lie. Option 1 (admitting the truth) would be his best option, at least from a perspective that values good ethics and common sense. America may not be entirely forgiving, but Clemens could offer a potential sympathetic story, such as he used steroids not to "cheat" but to prolong a fading career, and that his initial refusal to tell the truth reflects the pressure of preserving an extraordinary legacy -- a pressure other players, such as Andy Pettitte and Brian Roberts, did not face when confronted with allegations in the Mitchell Report. Option 2 (pleading the Fifth) would prevent him from perjuring himself, and thus escape any criminal liability that would occur if he lied under oath. The court of public opinion, however, would regard that maneuver as an admission of guilt. Pleading the fifth could also increase his vulnerability to civil liability, as it is permissible to draw an adverse inference from a party pleading the Fifth in a non-criminal proceeding. Option 3 (continuing to lie) would be Clemens' worst option: lying under oath is grounds for perjury charges. Perjury is to knowingly lie under oath about a matter material to an investigation or case. To prove guilt, the prosecution would have to establish that Clemens knowingly lied, meaning his lie must not have been a mistaken belief or a misunderstanding. Perhaps Clemens could argue he misunderstood the question, as tried by some defendants in perjury trials, but it seems like a strategy unlikely to succeed. Michael McCann is a law professor at Mississippi College School of Law and Chair of the Association of American Law Schools' Section on Sports and the Law.
Yeah, but if the steroid abuse continued, I do believe that fans WOULD stop buying tickets and merchandise. The fans care so much about this because they love baseball and they want it to be cleansed. They want guys to come out admit guilt, so that we can all move on and repair the damage that has been done. A decade of steroid abuse isn't going to make me give up on baseball, but if it continued with nothing being done and nobody getting punished then I'd stop watching.
1. They did something...they instituted better testing. 2. Punishing people who haven't tested positive seems funny to me. Particularly if it happened years ago and it's based solely on allegations from unsupported sources. Even Mitchell warned that MLB should not be looking at the report for the purpose of dishing out punishments.
Whether punishment is involved or not, the fans want the truth. We are ready to forgive. Nobody is bent out of shape over what Pettite did. Nobody wants him to be punished. People are disgusted by Clemens and his antics right now.
Truth is great. I'm not sure what you got is truth. You got lots of accusation. And again...your disgust with Clemens is built entirely on the assumption that he's not telling the truth and that McNamee is.
Calm down there Sherlock. Don't you think if the guy WAS making it up he would look for changes in Rocket's performance and use those as the times he "injected" Roger? If the guy can put up the numbers he put up as an Astro after steroid testing over the age of 40(1.87 ERA '05), why is it so impossible that he turned around his career after being rejected by the Redsox and called washed up? You guys aren't even giving him the benefit of the doubt after everything he did for the Astros. He did not have to come out of retirement. Go ahead and b**** about the routine he does every offseason, you're right. Going to the NLCS for the first time in 18 years in 04 and to the World Series in 05 just isn't good enough to warrant that headache. It's not like he pitched 3 shutout innings in relief to win that game in the NLDS. The man gave his cy young to MMP! One of the greatest awards in all of sports and he gave it to the fans. I'm not asking anyone to ignore the facts in front of them. I'm asking to have faith in the guy. To give him the benefit of the doubt. He gave the Astros so much and now that he is in trouble so many of you are just leaving him out to dry. Great Fans
I think it's possible that persons with hyper-inflated sense of egos can actually will the memory of their wrong doing out of their consciousness. Their reality is that they are wrongly accused. They are The Übermensch.
So it comes down to this: Do you believe Roger Clemens, local legend, or Brian McNamee, the New York GHB date rapist who lied to police on whether he had sexual relations with that woman? http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5438386.html
McNamee texted Clemens at McNamee's sick son's request to have Clemens call the son. Clemens never called the kid and barely spoke about the boy on the phone with McNamee. Clemens is a scumbag.
Has this been posted yet? I believe he's telling the truth here: <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.collegehumor.com/moogaloop/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1795065&fullscreen=1" width="480" height="360" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="movie" quality="best" value="http://www.collegehumor.com/moogaloop/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1795065&fullscreen=1" /></object>
I'm not sure if he lied or is telling the truth. I think his actions since then don't show much truth though. Just my personal opinion, but I don't think one has to get prepared on how to tell the truth...i.e. coached by a lawyer on it, have a doctored 60 Minutes interview, etc. Especially not a big star like Roger who is used to dealing with the media. Those kinds of things make me wary. Honestly, if someone lies on you can't you simple say "he is full of bs....let me take this lie detector test right now"? Either way, I think they need to stop chasing these guys based on hearsay. Either get some actual proof or leave them alone.....
Not true at all. I certainly believe he lied. But I believe there has to be some non-truth to Clemens also, so I voted for C. There's no way he told the absolute truth all the way through.. but I think McNamee lied, and I think Clemens is more innocent than the general public believes..
I would say they're both "fudging" the truth some. Have a hard time believing Roger did not know what exactly was being injected into him and on the other hand, the trainer, McNamee, must have some vested interest of some kind into dishing the dirt. It's sad that some people even friends can turn on one another for a price. Just shocking. Frankly, I'm at the point I'm sick of hearing about it. If you did it Roger, admit it! Man up! Take your lumps! Don't be like Palmeiro, who will NEVER be inducted into the HOF IMO EVER! You may be an ASS, Roger but no need to be a complete ASS! Just tell us/them what you know. I think despite the short term hit, you would gain respect points in the media/fans eyes if you indeed did it, just SAY IT! Enough said.
