Clemens may be ‘not guilty’ but it won’t change legacy
Roger Clemens' legal record remains clean, but his legacy is still damaged. (AP photo)
The final shot from the defense attorney came on the front steps of a federal courthouse in Washington on Monday when Rusty Hardin stood before the assembled media, Roger Clemens at his side, and said, “He was not only a seven-time Cy Young winner, he’s a hell of a man” – and suffice to say, Mindy McCready was not standing anywhere nearby.
This is the way it ends for the guilty winners. They cheer. They hug. They cry. It doesn’t make them any more believable, it’s just the expected gloating that comes after the litigation finish line. O.J. Simpson cried, too. Then he held a party for jurors on a yacht.
The jurors in the 1919 Chicago “Black Sox” trial celebrated, too. They acquitted eight players on charges of fixing a World Series following only three hours of deliberation — and you think the Clemens’ jury was fast — and then they threw their hats and confetti in the courtroom and lifted the defendants on their shoulders. Did that make the players innocent?
How about every other athlete who used – excuse me: whom we strongly suspect of using – performance-enhancing drugs? Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez, etc. Other than one trivial obstruction-of-justice verdict against Bonds, have any of the suspected cheaters in baseball been hammered legally?
Doesn’t matter. This changes nothing.
Legacies for athletes generally are not shaped in courtrooms. Had Clemens been found guilty of perjury and/or obstruction of justice for lying to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, it merely would have rubber stamped what most already believe/know. He cheated. Of course he cheated. Just like Bonds, McGwire and almost any other player who had almost cartoonish feats abnormally late in their careers.
If federal prosecutors were baseball players, they would be batting eighth in Single A. The BALCO case should’ve been a monster. But Victor Conte, the founder of the laboratory and mastermind of steroids programs employed by some of the world’s more famous athletes, spent only four months in prison. A case against Lance Armstrong was pursued for two years until being dropped last February. Bonds was slapped on the wrist. Clemens went to court and won in humiliating fashion.
The government’s two best witnesses against Clemens: trainer Brian McNamee, who carefully stored used syringes in a crushed beer can (Miller Lite, at that), and Andy Pettitte, who told prosecutors Clemens used steroids, then made a U-turn on cross-examination and said it’s quite possible he misinterpreted his former teammates’ remarks.
Organized crime families should bid for Pettitte’s services.
The prosecution put on such a compelling case that two jurors were dismissed for falling asleep.
It follows that many believe Congress should get out of the sports business. I disagree. 1) There would be next to zero drug testing in baseball if Congress did not get involved; 2) Remember that really isn’t about athletes breaking records but rather illegal drug use. Dealers and corrupt doctors and pharmacists need to be exposed. Kids, trying to emulate their heroes, have died as a result of steroids use. Yes, died. These are not victimless crimes. Ask Don Hooton, who testified at the Congressional hearings on drug use in baseball about his son’s suicide following extensive steroids use; 3) Nobody, under any circumstances, should ever be allowed to lie to Congress.
The problem is determining what’s a winnable case. Prosecutors either overestimated the strength of their case or completely botched the one they had. Clemens’ name was listed 82 times in the Mitchell report. Congress failed anyway — not because the mission was wrong, but because the government failed to present solid evidence or a witness with an ounce of credibility. Also because at times attorneys acted like buffoons (see: mistrial).
About legacy: Clemens is dead. So are all record breakers from the steroids era. It would be surprising if any get into the Hall of Fame, short of a confession and an image makeover. There is enough anti-drug sentiment among Hall voters to keep the perceived juicers out. Even Henry Aaron has spoken out, saying cheaters should be exposed and banned from Cooperstown.
The words “not guilty” don’t change what we think, what we remember. Clemens and Bonds will be on next year’s Hall of Fame ballot, but many voters will leave the boxes next to their names unchecked. It won’t be about what can be proved in a courtroom. It’s about logic and our belief system. And when the vote comes out, Clemens won’t celebrate.
By Jeff Schultz
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155 comments Add your comment
rivercard
June 19th, 2012
4:06 pm
“Nobody, under any circumstances, should ever be allowed to lie to Congress.”
————————————————————————————————————————–
The problem with that is the government now defines lying to include not incriminating yourself or not admitting to a crime that they are accusing you of but can’t prove you guilty of.
Perjury and Obstruction charges have become the revenge tactics of these petty, power-drunk scoundrels.
dougmo2
June 19th, 2012
4:14 pm
Clemens will join the ever expanding list of players that will never be forgiven by the BBWA for steriods. This list also include Bonds, Maguire, Palmerio, Conseco, and Sosa. I hope they enjoy paying admission to the Hall of Fame, that will be the only way they get into it for a long time.
Double Zero Eight
June 19th, 2012
4:28 pm
I forgot to mention in my earlier post that
as far as I am concerned, Hank Aaron’s
home run record still stands, and Clemens
never won 300 games.
Clemens gambled that his “celebrity” would
get him off. He was correct in his assumption.
bigeasy830
June 19th, 2012
4:29 pm
This case and others on steroids in MLB during that era should have never been pursued. Most of those players were taking something the entire era is tainted. MLB knew about it but turned a blind eye. The selective prosecution of only a few of the wrongdoers is just simply wrong. Everyone just need to move on from that era and let it go. Stop the witch hunts.
gt4ever
June 19th, 2012
4:48 pm
I can’t stand all these hypocrites…. Professional athletes have have juices for as long as I have been alive… I mean, it’s been and is still at the high school level… I am not for high school players juicing, but a professional can do whatever he/she thinks they need to do to gain the edge…. Get over it people!
Joey
June 19th, 2012
4:50 pm
So . . . a citizen can’t lie to Congress, but a Congressman can lie to citizens?
Hmmmmm . . .
LawDawg
June 19th, 2012
4:50 pm
Every sports anchor and radio host needs to take a deep breath and remember found not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt =/= being found innocent. Even the AJC says “jury finds that Clemens did not lie.” No they did not, they found that the prosecution failed to meet its burden of proof. These are not analogous concepts.
JSS
June 19th, 2012
4:52 pm
Here’s the bigger issue, they should have given blanket immunity for testimony before the Judicial Committee… They could have let people come clean and maybe gotten to the root of the matter… They didn’t, because in the “infamous” 2004 State of the Union speech, then President Bush called for a war on performance enhancing drugs in professional sports… The rest is history…
LawDawg
June 19th, 2012
4:53 pm
The only thing I got out of this is Don Hooten should have been a better father. Illegal drug use? Oooohhhh….that is much more important than, you know, the economy or national security.
LawDawg
June 19th, 2012
4:53 pm
Joey – Not under oath.
rivercard
June 19th, 2012
4:59 pm
Lawdawg- My problem is it seems they are claiming that saying you din’t do something that they can’t prove you did constitutes lying. Warped in my book.
Hillbilly D
June 19th, 2012
5:08 pm
Not under oath.
To us laymen, a lie is a lie. People in Congress do it everyday. The fact they aren’t under oath is no excuse.
Joey
June 19th, 2012
5:09 pm
Haha. Another “blame Bush” guy.
Well done . . .
Largo
June 19th, 2012
5:11 pm
Jeff,
I like and agree with your comments.
Bill Payer
June 19th, 2012
5:24 pm
You are not required to incriminate yourself. You simply refuse to answer the question. It’s called taking the fifth amendment. Therefore if you answer and do not tell the truth, you are committing a crime. Actually agree with Bigeasy, let’s all move on. Media was always more focused on this issue than most fans.
Joey
June 19th, 2012
5:25 pm
By the way, Jeff, the Mindy McCready line was superb!
I have no doubt that Clemens is a cheating, lying SOB. I read a good article (Wetzel – Yahoo?) a couple of years back, where he took dates from McNamee’s testimony, and charted it side-by-side with Clemens’ numbers, and it was astounding. The months were exact – Clemens went from a washed up hack, to winning a couple more Cy Young awards, at an age when power pitchers are watching games on tv.
P B Orr
June 19th, 2012
5:32 pm
To tell the truth, I’m getting sort of sick of baseball. Bad – er – “underachieving” managers like our own FG net millions to make bad decisions. Kids have their arms ruined. The McCanns and Heywards take their giant macho cuts and never learn a thing. There is no small ball, the kind that wins and produces runs, only “macho mashing”. And I hate power ropes and hair behavior.
Thanks for nothing BBWAA
June 19th, 2012
5:36 pm
Big thanks to the moral guardians that are the BBWAA. People like Mr. Schulz who will keep the best players of our generation out of the Hall Of Fame, protecting the fans of this wonderful game from those who do not meet their moral guidelines. Woohoo!
rivercard
June 19th, 2012
5:46 pm
Bill Payer- I get what your saying. But what was the lie? That he didn’t do it?
rivercard
June 19th, 2012
5:49 pm
Bill Payer- In addition anyone who would answer instead of taking fifth should be convicted of stupidity. Agree with JSS , if they were really serious about addressing the issue they would have offered immunity. Congressional hearings always equal blustering grandstanding.
Also, moving on means not basing your HOF vote for someone based on speculation but solely on performance.
Paddy
June 19th, 2012
5:56 pm
Matt…..Jeff is doing what he is paid to do by the AJC. He is writing a column and offering an opinion on a major sports story. Many others, not lawyers, have said the same thing as Jeff. If we only had lawyerts offer opinions or doctors offer opinions
Paddy
June 19th, 2012
5:57 pm
we would have a very dull sports page.
JSS
June 19th, 2012
6:15 pm
Only a “idiot” like Joey would see “blame Bush” instead of fact that this is the genesis of the matter in terms of the government (through the Justice Department by proxy) doing the job that pro leagues (which he happened to have been a owner in and the person who signed Jose Canesco and Rafael Palmeiro’s paychecks) should have done in collective bargaining… You’re a doof…
JASon
June 19th, 2012
7:21 pm
“Remember that really isn’t about athletes breaking records but rather illegal drug use.”
But these cases never amount to anything its just a huge run-around. The real story here is that American government sucks. No one cares everyone just wants to get paid. No one ever really gets punished for anything. We just throw them back into society where they can commit more crime
Delbert D.
June 19th, 2012
7:43 pm
Un-innocent should apply to Clemens. Maybe there should be a Tarnished Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Shoeless Joe Jackson…
Acworth Adam
June 19th, 2012
7:45 pm
People know he did it, but do we really need to waste limited federal investigative resources on these type of cases. These resources could be used on preventing terrorism, going after child pornographers and large scale fraud.
Delbert D.
June 19th, 2012
7:48 pm
“Nobody, under any circumstances, should ever be allowed to lie to Congress.”
Not even the Attorney General of the United States.
Hurt Kurbstreit
June 19th, 2012
7:53 pm
Clemens was found to be “not guilty” but that doesn’t mean that he IS not guilty. I agree with Hank Aaron – “cheaters should be exposed and banned from Cooperstown”. There is no doubt in my mind that he is a cheater and a liar.
Hope Jurrjens Gets Shelled Tonight
June 19th, 2012
7:54 pm
Hope that Jair gets absolutely bombed out of the stadium tonight – What a CRY BABY WHINE-er…. “They don’t like me any more….Waaaaahhhhhhhh….” What a freaking LOSER!
The Braves, they...
June 19th, 2012
8:12 pm
Let it be known that Pete Rose does NOT belong in this crowd. He may have bet on a game or two (or more) but what you saw on the field was the real deal. He didn’t need any performance enhancing drugs to do great things. If the baseball Hall of Fame is about recognizing great players who did it the old fashioned way, then Charlie Hustle should have been in long ago. Put Pete Rose in the Hall of Fame!
Red Stick
June 19th, 2012
8:18 pm
Just another example of the big egos in DC on a power trip. The Bonds trial has been estimated to have cost taxpayers between $10-$50 million. Now with the Clemens and John Edwards cases over, it is likely that the government spent over $100 million on all 3 trials.
What a waste of money.
Delbert D.
June 19th, 2012
8:20 pm
Shoeless Joe has seniority over Charlie Hustle.
Delbert D.
June 19th, 2012
8:22 pm
When the prosecution’s best witness is a drug dealer, it’s very hard to convict.
Hillbilly D
June 19th, 2012
8:26 pm
The Braves, they
There were allegations into doctors and pills back in Pete’s Phillie days that involved several team members.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19800709&id=NQtWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7eEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6775,2221318
JD
June 19th, 2012
8:35 pm
When they charge Congress for lying to us, then you might convict someone for lying to Congress. 10 hours of deliberation by the jury for a 10 week trial is a definite message to the government and Congress.
Beast from the East
June 19th, 2012
8:37 pm
Jeff,
I disagree with your entire rant. Baseball is nothing more than entertainment and I could care less if they juiced or not. Also, I think it is a disgrace and a total waste of our tax dollars for the government to be involved in this at any level. What next? Are they going to drag singers in to find out if they cheated on-stage by lipsyncing? It’s not about drug use. That’s nothing more than a convenient excuse for the old timers to head hunt because someone tried to “tarnish the integrity of the game”. Like it ever had any to begin with.
Beast from the East
June 19th, 2012
8:47 pm
As far as Clemens’ legacy, let me ask you a question. Could it possibly be any worse than Bush’s, Clinton’s, Mitchell’s, etc? I guess it all depends on your point of view. I was entertained watching him pitch. Watching the few others I just mentioned do their jobs…not so much.
Billy
June 19th, 2012
8:55 pm
Clemens and Bond guilty as hell!
The Pres lies to public everyday and so does Senate. Morals have gone to he!!
Billy
June 19th, 2012
8:57 pm
morals..sp ops.
Bill Payer
June 19th, 2012
8:57 pm
rivercard – was just speaking in general, but in Clemens case, denying he ever used steroids, if in fact he did, would be the lie. You aren’t forced to tell the truth, but they bust you for lying to them, at least under oath.
bali
June 19th, 2012
9:07 pm
would not surprise me if bonds and clemens do not make the hall of fame on the first ballot….both men have faced trials where no guilt was found…if the glove dont fit u got to acquit…john edwards can walk away with a slap on the hand….seems like this is the american way….pete rose being banned for life for gambling seems kinda stupid to me…think he would make a good commissioner of baseball once bud steps down
JSS
June 19th, 2012
10:01 pm
@ Hillbilly…
Those greenies were something else!
Hillbilly D
June 19th, 2012
10:04 pm
JSS
And from what I understand, most everybody did them in the 60’s and 70’s. I swear there was a very well known pitcher that twitched worse than a man being electrocuted, when he was standing on the mound between pitches.
Could be Chip?
June 19th, 2012
10:10 pm
I seem to remember some hometown guys coming back from injuries and others having huge seasons
back before steroid testing, and after testing started, we never saw the power out of one and the other
eventually retired after seeing the injuries harder to come back from. one a power pitcher who retired from the Cards and one a third baseman. Don’t get bent out of shape…just speculating on the coincidence.
Orlandobrave
June 19th, 2012
10:29 pm
Clemens is an arrogant jerk. So is his cheerleader boyfriend Rusty Hardin. Nolan Ryan was a similar type pitcher..throwing inside and trying to intimidate the hitter. Same as Bob Gibson. However, Ryan and Gibson didn’t come across as arrogant jerks, just tough pitchers.
Hon Ryatt
June 19th, 2012
11:21 pm
Who Cares. Put whatever you want into your body, but don’t go crying to the Government or the League when you’re 50 and can’t walk. Liberal Pantswetters.
Congress Sux
June 19th, 2012
11:23 pm
Next up, Congress investigates radio voice tracking for defrauding the listener into thinking there’s someone live at the station playing 45’s.
rivercard
June 19th, 2012
11:54 pm
Bill Payer- That is my point. If they haven’t and can’t prove he took steroids, then how could they prove he lied by saying he didn’t.
Again I think the obstruction and perjury charges are ones they use as revenge when they can’t get you on the charge they want to pursue.
Total waste of resources.
brave boy
June 20th, 2012
12:31 am
Ditto, Mark. Could be….LMAO.Cmon dillweed.
brookings
June 20th, 2012
12:33 am
rivercard:Have never read or heard this so well put!