Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Clemens KO'd in Court of Public Opinon

Great post today by Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner.com

Goff shares followup news regarding the defamation battle going on in the courtroom between Roger Clemens and embattled trainer Brian McNamee. The following is excerpted from his article:

According to the New York Daily News, Keith Ellison, a federal judge of the U.S. District Court, dismissed the remainder of Clemens' defamation lawsuit Aug. 28 against McNamee in Texas, thus shifting the focus to New York, where the former trainer filed his own defamation lawsuit against the 11-time All-Star right-hander.

Ellison dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning Clemens cannot file the suit again, but the three-time World Series champion retains the right to file an appeal. Hardin originally filed the defamation suit Jan. 6, 2008 in Houston, citing McNamee as "malicious and grossly negligence" in his remarks about Clemens to Mitchell and SI.com.

The majority of Clemens' lawsuit was dismissed in February 2009, stating that the Southern District in Houston did not have jurisdiction and that McNamee's cooperation in regard to Mitchell's investigation was protected by his immunity deal with the government.

"Brain has defeated Clemens in Texas," Emery told ESPN.com. "And now the battleground moves to New York."

Currently, McNamee is suing Clemens for defamation in a separate suit, which seeks unspecified damages, filed with a New York court. The suit claims that Clemens has "humiliated McNamee, destroyed his reputation, both personally and professionally, and caused him severe emotional distress."

Furthermore, McNamee claims that Clemens "waged a defamatory public relations campaign against McNamee...intended to deceive the public and Congress into falsely believing that McNamee is a liar."

Clemens' name was mentioned 82 times in the Mitchell Report. To this day, the former standout pitcher denies any use of performance-enhancing drugs.

On Feb. 13, 2008, Clemens appeared before a Congressional committee, along with McNamee, and swore under oath that he never took steroids, discussed HGH with McNamee and never attended a party at Canseco's house where steroids was the topic of conversation.

Clemens further stated that he never informed Pettitte of any HGH use, which contradicted the All-Star left-hander's sworn testimony Feb. 4, 2008, in which he informed Congress that Clemens once told him that McNamee had injected him with HGH.

Based on his Congressional testimony, Clemens is under investigation by a grand jury in Washington for perjury of his denial of steroid use.

The retired superstar right-hander would have been better off flushing his money down the toilet rather than hand it over for legal fees. Now, he's fighting a losing battle with a high-priced attorney against McNamee.

Prior to the Clemens/McNamee feud, few outside the state of Texas had ever heard of Hardin. At the same time, most people outside New York City are unfamiliar with Emery. Now, both lawyers names' often appear in nationwide articles pertaining to Clemens and McNamee.

In a way, both Hardin and Emery are the real winners in this case.

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