Baseball star Clemens denies drug allegations

Baseball star Roger Clemens denied allegations he ever used performance-enhancing drugs after the legendary pitcher was named in the Mitchell report, a 20-month investigation into their use in Major League Baseball.

Clemens’ attorney Rusty Hardin issued a statement on Thursday evening saying that his client was outraged to see his name prominently mentioned in the 311-page report released earlier in the day.

“Roger has been repeatedly tested for these substances and he has never tested positive,” Hardin said in the statement.

“There has never been one shred of tangible evidence that he ever used these substances and yet he is being slandered today.”

A seven-time Cy Young Award winner who helped the New York Yankees win World Series titles in 1999 and 2000, Clemens and fellow pitcher Andy Pettitte had their names submitted to Mitchell by Brian McNamee, a former strength and conditioning coach with the Yankees.

According to the report, McNamee told investigators that he supplied the Yankees pitchers with performance enhancers but Hardin cast doubt on his credibility as a witness.

“The use of steroids in sports is a serious problem, it is wrong and it should be stopped,” Hardin added.

“However, I am extremely upset that Roger’s name was in this report based on the allegations of a troubled and unreliable witness who only came up with names after being threatened with possible prison time.”

The report stated that McNamee injected Clemens four times with Winstrol – an anabolic steroid – during the 1998 season, one of his Cy Young campaigns with the Toronto Blue Jays.

“According to McNamee, from the time that McNamee injected Clemens with Winstrol through the end of the 1998 season, Clemens’ performance showed remarkable improvement,” the report said.

“During this period of improved performance, Clemens told McNamee that the steroids ’had a pretty good effect’ on him.”

McNamee was then hired by the Yankees prior to the 2000 season at the request of Clemens, who was traded to New York in 1999.

According to the report, McNamee supplied Clemens with performance enhancers acquired from Kirk Radomski, a former clubhouse attendant with the New York Mets.

“According to McNamee, during the middle of the 2000 season, Clemens made it clear that he was ready to use steroids again,” the report said.

“During the latter part of the regular season, McNamee injected Clemens in the buttocks four to six times with testosterone from a bottle labelled either Sustanon 250 or Deca-Durabolin that McNamee had obtained from Radomski.”

Renowned as one of the best power pitchers in baseball history, Clemens was mentioned 82 times in the report.

His career record stands at 354-194 with a 3.12 ERA and 4,672 strikeouts in 24 seasons with the Yankees, Blue Jays, Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox.

An American League MVP in 1986, the 45-year-old Clemens ranks eighth all-time in wins and second in strikeouts, trailing only Nolan Ryan in the latter category.

But the inclusion in the Mitchell Report seriously tarnishes Clemens’ reputation and could affect the right-hander’s potential future admission to the Hall of Fame.