If after your press conference, which you set up to defend your
good name, the public is still split on whether or not your good
name is, well, good, therein lies the problem.
If after your press conference, which you set up to defend your good name, the public is still split on whether or not your good name is, well, good, therein lies the problem.
Roger Clemens held a press conference on Monday to defend himself from the allegations that arose in Sen. George Mitchell’s report on steroids – a report that was released almost a month ago on Dec. 13.
In the report, Clemens’ trainer Brian McNamee accused the seven-time Cy Young winner of using steroids and human growth hormone, far and away the juiciest details of the entire report – pun intended.
But despite announcing a defamation lawsuit against McNamee during the press conference on Monday, Clemens didn’t really sway the court of public opinion much. Granted, changing the publics opinion on anything is an uphill battle, but the press conference itself seemed to, if anything, divide the opinions that much more.
Not exactly Clemens’ intent, I’m sure.
The Rocket will say there are some people out there that have their minds set in stone as to whether or not he did steroids, regardless of what he says at a press conference.
And he’s right.
There are some who’ll find the news of the generation’s greatest pitcher on steroids an easy column idea for the next two weeks, so they’ll stand adamantly against the Rocket even if he somehow materializes a clean urine sample.
But what was so interesting about Monday’s press conference was the taped phone conversation between Clemens and McNamee, which was recorded on Jan. 4 and broadcasted at the press conference.
If you haven’t heard it, here are two of the juicier nuggets (No, seriously people. Pun intended!) from the recording:
– Said McNamee, “All I did was what I thought was right. And I never thought it was right. But I thought that I had no other choice, let’s put it that way.”
– Said Clemens, “I just don’t know why you did it? Like I said, everybody asks me about you and I tell them, I treat you like I treat everyone else in the world …”
Responded McNamee, “No, you treated me better. You treated me like family … I’m glad to hear your voice … I’m sorry your family is going through this.”
Said Clemens, “You just need to come out and tell the truth … Like I said, I’m numb to everything.”
Said McNamee, “What do you want me to do?”
End scene!
Clemens, who had lawyers present during the taping, was surprisingly calm and content while talking to a man who had recently accused him of taking steroids.
McNamee, who had no knowledge of the conversation being taped (Apparently, that’s cool in the state of New York), was loud and roaring toward the end.
During Monday’s press conference, Clemens acted more like a man trying to clear his name. He seemed on edge throughout the question-and-answer period, and even cut it short because he was so frustrated.
Of course, he acted more like a man trying to clear his name when he spoke with the media. But when he spoke on the phone with the man who put him in this mess? Not so much.
The taped conversation did little in the end, which is why it’s so interesting that Clemens’ lawyers decided to use it in the first place. Coupled with Clemens’ interview with Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes Sunday night, the right-handed hurler is either the worst liar or would be the absolute worst defense lawyer if he ever decided to change careers.
McNamee and Clemens seemed to have a close relationship at one point, and after listening to the taped conversation, it seems McNamee threw Clemens’ name to Mitchell report investigators because he was pressured to do so.
Let’s put it that way.
Clemens complained to Wallace on 60 Minutes of not getting “an inch” of respect after 24 years of service to Major League Baseball.
Does seven Cy Young’s make you immune to the Mitchell report? Does the “greatest pitcher of our generation” title wipe away any wrongdoings?
Heck, the reason Clemens called McNamee in the first place was not to talk about the Mitchell report, but to discuss McNamee’s son who has celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine.
As a result, McNamee’s sick child was thrown into the media spotlight, all to hopefully clear Clemens’ name.
An inch of respect? Nope. Not even an inch.
