“Let me be clear. I have never taken steroids or HGH,” said the seven-time Cy Young winner in 2008. Despite a Hall-Of-Fame career that lasted 23 years, Roger Clemens may not even receive an invitation to Cooperstown. Instead, Clemens may be behind bars after being indicted by a federal grand jury for lying to Congress.
Clemens was indicted on six counts: one for obstruction of justice, three for making false statements (HGH, steroids, and B12), and two for perjury (HGH and steroids). Still, the Rocket has adamantly claimed that he is innocent.
On twitter, Clemens said, “I never took HGH or Steroids. And I did not lie to Congress. I look forward to challenging the Governments accusations, and hope people will keep an open mind until trial. I appreciate all the support I have been getting. I am happy to finally have my day in court.”
If convicted, Clemens could face up to thirty years in prison and a $1.5 million fine. However, for a situation like this, the recommended jail time is 15-21 months.
“Roger is looking forward to his day in court,” said Clemens’ lawyer Rusty Hardin. “He is happy this has finally happened. We have known for some time this was going to happen. We’ll let everything get taken care of in court.”
Yankees catcher Jorge Posada played with Clemens on two World Series championship teams and said he would support his former teammate.
“I’m going to support him and I’m going to be behind him and that’s all I can say,” said Posada.
Clemens won 354 games in his career, which ended in 2007. The 11-time All-Star played for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, and Houston Astros. He has 4,672 career strikeouts with a lifetime ERA of 3.12.
