Clemens Vs. McNamee

Every sports channels or Web sites I go, all I see is the news on Roger Clemens with his steroid issue. Clemens was recently accused of using steroid during the height of his career. McNamee, who was once his trainer, stated that he injected Clemens with steroid and human growth hormones during the years of 1999 through 2002.

As of now, nothing is fore sure. Everything is debatable, and that is why PR can play a huge role in this case. I think it was smart of Clemens to be thanking the investigators for being nice to him during the whole investigation process. He told the press that the testimony was written by him, not his attorney. So far so good, but whether he wanted it or not, the hearing at the Congress went on air, live. This could have been a huge opportunity for him to persuade the public that he is innocent, or he could have sought out for sympathy at the least. In my personal opinion, any athlete who is accused of using steroid should not hesitate to confess that he or she is guilty of using such substance, if that is actually the case. If they did not use them but was accused of it, they should carefully defend themselves and try to please the public in any way possible. The way Clemens handled the issue was clearly not the best way to do this. If he is actually innocent as he says, he should not be stuttering most of his words like he did during the hearing at the Congress. Neither should he be vague when answering questions. Plus, an angry attorney sitting behind him with his face on is definitely not a good PR move on Clemens. Not only that, the attorney was constantly whispering on Clemens’ ears, as if Clemens was not smart enough to come up with his own plausible lies.

On the other hand, I think McNamee handled the media very well. He does not seek out publicity and tries to avoid the spotlight, however he handled himself very well inside the courtroom. McNamee acknowledged to the Congress and to the press that what he did was wrong, and he wishes to be a part of the solution to the whole steroid issues in the baseball league. Also, he wanted clarify the fact that he did not want to damage the player’s name, and that nothing is personal.

Everything comes down to Clemens against McNamee. In most cases, it is easier to prove guilty than proving innocence. In this case, McNamee has physical evidence to back up his argument, while Clemens have nothing (other than the recording of the phone call between him and McNamee which may have been edited). It was bad enough for Clemens to be accused of such thing. If he is found guilty of charge, we will not be seeing much of him. Even if he was found innocent, too bad, he already soiled his name.