Clemens Indicted For Perjury, Tweets Denial
NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- Retired baseball superstar Roger Clemens once again maintains his innocence.
He tweeted his latest denial Thursday night, just hours after the public learned he was indicted on perjury and other charges.
CBS 2's Dave Carlin reports a federal grand jury charged Clemens with perjury, obstruction of Congress and making false statements.
The following denial was posted on his Twitter account:
"I never took HGH or steroids. And I did not lie to Congress. I look forward to challenging the government's accusations, and hope people will keep an open mind until trial."
Clemens former trainer Brian McNamee accused the pitcher of using performance enhancing drugs more than 30 times.
"On numerous times I injected him with steroids and human growth hormone," McNamee testified.
Clemens went to Capitol Hill to testify that was a lie. No one forced him to testify. High profile celebrity attorney Benjamin Brafman said Clemens should have stayed quiet.
"There was no subpoena," Brafman said.
Daily News sports writer Michael O'Keeffe wrote a book about Clemens, who he says was simply too stubborn.
"It is something out of a Greek tragedy," Keeffe said. "He would never give in to an opponent. Those were qualities that served him really well on a baseball diamond, but in a court of law in front of Congress in the court of public opinion these were qualities that really submarined him. They really undermined him."
Baseball fans said the sport they love is taking too many hits lately and some at Mickey Mantle's restaurant told Carlin they are tired of being disappointed by superstar athletes.
"I grew up with my dad watching the game, enjoying it and thinking it was pure and now looking back it wasn't all roses like I thought it was," said Mike Paterno of West New York, N.J.
"It is a black eye," added Yankees fan Rene Ramirez.
Clemens who won 354 games in the big leagues, with the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros and New York Yankees, but he'll be remembered for the scandal that could land the Rocket in jail.
