Clemens starting to backpedal

[frankb03]

Clemens apologizes for 'mistakes in my personal life'

NEW YORK (AP) -- Roger Clemens apologized Monday for unspecified mistakes in his personal life but denied having an affair with a 15-year-old.

The Daily News reported last week Clemens had a decade-long relationship with country star Mindy McCready that began when she was 15 and an aspiring singer. The newspaper also linked Clemens to former Manhattan bartender Angela Moyer and Paulette Dean Daly, a former wife of champion golfer John Daly.

"Even though these articles contain many false accusations and mistakes, I need to say that I have made mistakes in my personal life for which I am sorry," Clemens said in a statement issued by spokesman Patrick Dorton. "I have apologized to my family and apologize to my fans. Like everyone, I have flaws. I have sometimes made choices which have not been right."

Brian McNamee, Clemens' former trainer, accused him in December's Mitchell Report of using performance-enhancing drugs in 1998, 2000 and 2001, before players and owners agreed to ban them from baseball.

Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner and 354-game winner, has repeatedly denied using steroids and human growth hormone and filed a defamation suit against Brian McNamee.

"I believe my personal life has nothing to do with the accusations of steroid and HGH use," Clemens said. "I have already made clear that I did not use them. Now, I have been accused of having an improper relationship with a 15-year old girl. Nothing could be further from the truth. This relationship has been twisted and distorted far beyond reality. It is just one of many, many accusations that are utterly false.

"I realize that many people want me to simply confess and apologize for the conduct that I have been accused of, but I cannot confess to, nor apologize for, things I did not do. I have apologized to my family for my mistakes, and having offered this apology to the public, I would ask that you let me and my family deal with these matters in private."

Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said Friday he will talk with his client about whether to proceed with the defamation suit following a wave of unpleasant publicity.

"He's getting pummeled," attorney Rusty Hardin said then. "I've never seen somebody get beat up like this. In some ways, I think we're on uncharted ground."

The decision on whether to drop the suit rests with Clemens.

"That's always a decision the client has to make," Hardin said. "That's not the lawyer's decision."

[frankb03]

I suspect Clemens will drop his lawsuit vs. McNamee within the next week.

[vinnyvegas]

I suspect Clemens will drop his lawsuit vs. McNamee within the next week.

I AGREE...I don't think his lawyer had a full grasp of Clemens & his past SINS...I think IF Clemens was forthcoming his lawyer would have advised him to shutup but once he opened up pandora's box all the gloves were removed...

My money says he never fully recovers from this...both personally & financially & he too will have the ASTERISK by his name...

[flarendep1]

He's dancing big time.

[heleanth]

He is a greedy, self-serving cheater, just like Barry Bonds. Their records should both be asterisked, noting that their achievements were aided by the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs. What they have done to the game has harmed it far more than anything Pete Rose did. What they did can never be repaired. History will judge both of them harshly, and, as time goes on, they will not be heroes of the game, but villains that should be renounced as such!

[frankb03]

He is a greedy, self-serving cheater, just like Barry Bonds. Their records should both be asterisked, noting that their achievements were aided by the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs. What they have done to the game has harmed it far more than anything Pete Rose did. What they did can never be repaired. History will judge both of them harshly, and, as time goes on, they will not be heroes of the game, but villains that should be renounced as such!

Great post!

[soonerbud]

I agree.......it is time that CHEATERS such as Bonds and Clemens get the same treatment that Pete gets. Hell, Pete should be in the HALL as a player Pete didn't CHEEEAAATT!!!

[savage1]

He is a greedy, self-serving cheater, just like Barry Bonds. Their records should both be asterisked, noting that their achievements were aided by the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs. What they have done to the game has harmed it far more than anything Pete Rose did. What they did can never be repaired. History will judge both of them harshly, and, as time goes on, they will not be heroes of the game, but villains that should be renounced as such!

Before all of this came out, I used to marvel at Clemens and the way in which(I thought) he took care of his body-regularly jogging and in general being in essence a picture of fitness and most importantly how he continued to win as he got up there in years.
Little did I know as they say in the old song, it was(I get high) "with the help of my friends."

[molta02]

He is a greedy, self-serving cheater, just like Barry Bonds. Their records should both be asterisked, noting that their achievements were aided by the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs. What they have done to the game has harmed it far more than anything Pete Rose did. What they did can never be repaired. History will judge both of them harshly, and, as time goes on, they will not be heroes of the game, but villains that should be renounced as such!

If you want to asterick clemens and bonds, then asterick the whole 'steroid' era. clemens and bonds have failed/violated/suspended by baseballs drug policy just as many times as maddux and griffey.

[molta02]

I agree.......it is time that CHEATERS such as Bonds and Clemens get the same treatment that Pete gets. Hell, Pete should be in the HALL as a player Pete didn't CHEEEAAATT!!!

no, he broke the cardinal rule of professional (or any for that matter) sports.

[GrandPa]

If you want to asterick clemens and bonds, then asterick the whole 'steroid' era. clemens and bonds have failed/violated/suspended by baseballs drug policy just as many times as maddux and griffey.

WTF did Maddux or Griffey ever do? No "asterick" required.

[molta02]

WTF did Maddux or Griffey ever do? No "asterick" required.

you completely missed what i was saying.

[GrandPa]

I don't think asterisks are required, anymore than they should be for the 80's when the norm was cocaine and little green amphetamines, or the 60's where the mounds were higher ( and ERA's lower and BA's lower), or even the changes in the game like the DH or domed stadiums.

Cy Young has the most unbreakable record of 511 wins ( it would take 25 straight 20-win seasons, and you'd still be 11 short), but there are no asterisks next to his name. The game is constantly evolving, and since it is so statistically-driven, everyone is freaking out.

It is indeed sad the tarnish that is on the game, particularly for the roid era, but no one has ever implied or charged that 100% of the players were juicing, but Caminiti and Canseco both warned that it was rampant, and it has been confirmed. I still don't believe that the Madduxes and Griffeys and Ozzie Smiths and Ripkens, et al, will be slighted for their apparent legitimate skills.