The following is excerpted from Pages 167 to 175 of
the Mitchell Report; footnotes are not included here.
Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens is a pitcher who, from 1984 to 2007,
played for four teams in Major League Baseball, the
Boston Red Sox (13 seasons), Toronto Blue Jays (2
seasons), New York Yankees (6 seasons), and Houston
Astros (3 seasons). He has won more than 350 games,
seven Cy Young Awards, and was the American League Most
Valuable Player in 1986. He was named to All-Star teams
eleven times.
During the [Kirk] Radomski investigation, federal law
enforcement officials identified Brian McNamee as one of
Radomski's customers and a possible sub-distributor.
McNamee, through his attorney, entered into a written
agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the
Northern District of California. The agreement provides
that McNamee will cooperate with the U.S. Attorney's
Office. No truthful statements can be used against
McNamee in any federal prosecution by that Office; if,
however, he should be untruthful in any statements made
pursuant to that agreement, he may be charged with
criminal violations, including making false statements,
which is a felony.
As part of his cooperation with the U.S. Attorney's
Office, and at its request, McNamee agreed to three
interviews by me and my staff, one in person and two by
telephone. McNamee's personal lawyer participated in the
interviews. Also participating were federal prosecutors
and agents from the F.B.I. and the Internal Revenue
Service. On each occasion, McNamee was advised that he
could face criminal charges if he made any false
statements during these interviews, which were deemed by
the prosecutors to be subject to his written agreement
with the U.S. Attorney's Office.
McNamee attended St. John's University in New York
from 1985 to 1989, majoring in athletic administration.
At St. John's, he played baseball. From 1990 to May
1993, he was a New York City police officer.
In 1993, McNamee met Tim McCleary, the assistant
general manager of the New York Yankees, who also had
attended St. John's. McCleary hired McNamee as a bullpen
catcher and batting practice pitcher for the New York
Yankees. In 1995, McNamee was released from his duties
after Joe Torre was named the new Yankees manager. From
1995 to 1998, McNamee trained "Olympic caliber athletes"
outside of baseball.
In 1995, McCleary was hired as the assistant general
manager for the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1998, that club
hired McNamee as its strength and conditioning coach,
and he served in that position from 1998 to 2000.
Roger Clemens signed with Toronto in 1997, after
spending the first thirteen years of his career with the
Red Sox. After McNamee began working for the Blue Jays
in 1998, he and Clemens both lived at the Toronto
SkyDome (there is a hotel attached to the stadium).
McNamee and Clemens became close professionally while in
Toronto, but they were not close socially or personally.
Jose Canseco was playing for the Blue Jays in 1998.
On or about June 8-10, 1998, the Toronto Blue Jays
played an away series with the Florida Marlins. McNamee
attended a lunch party that Canseco hosted at his home
in Miami. McNamee stated that, during this luncheon, he
observed Clemens, Canseco, and another person he did not
know meeting inside Canseco's house, although McNamee
did not personally attend that meeting. Canseco told
members of my investigative staff that he had numerous
conversations with Clemens about the benefits of
Deca-Durabolin and Winstrol and how to "cycle" and
"stack" steroids. Canseco has made similar statements
publicly.
Toward the end of the road trip which included the
Marlins series, or shortly after the Blue Jays returned
home to Toronto, Clemens approached McNamee and, for the
first time, brought up the subject of using steroids.
Clemens said that he was not able to inject himself, and
he asked for McNamee's help.
Later that summer, Clemens asked McNamee to inject
him with Winstrol, which Clemens supplied. McNamee knew
the substance was Winstrol because the vials Clemens
gave him were so labeled. McNamee injected Clemens
approximately four times in the buttocks over a
several-week period with needles that Clemens provided.
Each incident took place in Clemens's apartment at the
SkyDome. McNamee never asked Clemens where he obtained
the steroids.
During the 1998 season (around the time of the
injections), Clemens showed McNamee a white bottle of
Anadrol-50. Clemens told McNamee he was not using it but
wanted to know more about it. McNamee told Clemens not
to use it. McNamee said he took the bottle and gave it
to Canseco. McNamee does not know where Clemens obtained
the Anadrol-50.
According to McNamee, from the time that McNamee
injected Clemens with Winstrol through the end of the
1998 season, Clemens's performance showed remarkable
improvement. During this period of improved performance,
Clemens told McNamee that the steroids "had a pretty
good effect" on him. McNamee said that Clemens also was
training harder and dieting better during this time.
In 1999, Clemens was traded to the New York Yankees.
McNamee remained under contract with the Blue Jays for
the 1999 season. In 2000, the Yankees hired McNamee as
the assistant strength and conditioning coach under Jeff
Mangold. According to McNamee, the Yankees hired him
because Clemens persuaded them to do so. In this
capacity, McNamee worked with all of the Yankees
players. McNamee was paid both by the Yankees and by
Clemens personally. Clemens hired McNamee to train him
during portions of several weeks in the off-season.
McNamee also trained Clemens personally for one to two
weeks during spring training and a few times during the
season. McNamee served as the Yankees' assistant
strength and conditioning coach through the 2001 season.
McNamee first learned about Kirk Radomski through
David Segui during the 2000 season. Also that season,
McNamee obtained Radomski's telephone number from Jason
Grimsley. McNamee wanted to buy a Lexus, and Radomski
had a connection with a Lexus dealer. Radomski recalled
that Grimsley was a frequent customer for performance
enhancing substances, and he produced nine checks
written by Grimsley to Radomski during 2001 and 2002 and
fourteen checks in total.
According to McNamee, during the middle of the 2000
season Clemens made it clear that he was ready to use
steroids again. During the latter part of the regular
season, McNamee injected Clemens in the buttocks four to
six times with testosterone from a bottle labeled either
Sustanon 250 or Deca-Durabolin that McNamee had obtained
from Radomski.
McNamee stated that during this same time period he
also injected Clemens four to six times with human
growth hormone he received from Radomski, after
explaining to Clemens the potential benefits and risks
of use. McNamee believed that it was probably his idea
that Clemens try human growth hormone. Radomski
instructed McNamee how to inject human growth hormone.
On each occasion, McNamee administered the injections at
Clemens's apartment in New York City.
McNamee said that he and Clemens did not have any
conversations regarding performance enhancing substances
from late 2000 until August 2001. McNamee did, however,
train Clemens and
Andy Pettitte during the off-season at their homes
in Houston. Clemens often invited other major league
players who lived in the Houston area to train with him.
McNamee's training relationship with Clemens and
others has been described publicly. Peter Gammons
reported during spring training 2001:
Brandon Smith, an apprentice trainer with the
Yankees, describes Roger Clemens' day as follows: "He's
one of the first players in every morning, runs, does
his program with Andy Pettitte, does the team program
workout, goes to the weight room, leaves, plays 18 holes
of golf and finally meets (trainer) Brian McNamee at 6
.. . . and a few other players -- for another workout.
It's incredible how much energy Roger has."
According to McNamee, Clemens advised him in August
2001 that he was again ready to use steroids. Shortly
thereafter, McNamee injected Clemens with Sustanon or
Deca-Durabolin on four to five occasions at Clemens's
apartment. According to McNamee, he again obtained these
drugs from Kirk Radomski. McNamee concluded from
Clemens's statements and conduct that Clemens did not
like using human growth hormone (Clemens told him that
he did not like the "bellybutton shot"). To McNamee's
knowledge, Clemens did not use human growth hormone in
2001.
McNamee was not retained by the Yankees after the
2001 season. After that season, Clemens never again
asked McNamee to inject him with performance enhancing
substances, and McNamee had no further discussions with
Clemens about such substances. McNamee stated that
Clemens did not tell him why he stopped asking him to
administer performance enhancing substances, and McNamee
has no knowledge about whether Clemens used performance
enhancing substances after 2001.
During the years that McNamee stated he facilitated
Clemens's use of steroids and human growth hormone,
McNamee's discussions with Clemens about use of these
drugs were limited. McNamee assumed that Clemens used
performance enhancing substances during the second half
of the season so that he would not tire, but they did
not discuss this directly. It was Clemens who made the
decision when he would use anabolic steroids or human
growth hormone. McNamee stated that he tried to educate
Clemens about these substances; he "gave him as much
information as possible."
Clemens continued to train with McNamee after he was
dismissed by the Yankees, according to both McNamee and
press reports. In October 2006, after the Los Angeles
Times reported that the names of Clemens and McNamee
were among those that had been redacted from an
affidavit in support of a search warrant for the
residence of Jason Grimsley as allegedly involved with
the illegal use of performance enhancing substances,
Clemens was reported to have said: "I'll continue to use
Mac [McNamee] to train me. He's one of a kind."
McNamee was quoted in a December 10, 2006 news
article on steroids as reportedly having said: "I never,
ever gave Clemens or Pettitte steroids. They never asked
me for steroids. The only thing they asked me for were
vitamins." McNamee told us that he was accurately quoted
but that he did not tell the truth to the reporter who
interviewed him. He explained that he was trying to
protect his reputation.
On May 15, 2007, the New York Daily News reported
that Clemens had cut ties to McNamee. McNamee denied
that and told us that he trained Clemens after the
article was published. He added that Clemens now has a
home in the New York area, and McNamee personally
installed a gym there.
McNamee stated that he has no ill will toward Clemens
and "was always ahead [financially] with Roger." McNamee
received money for expenses from Clemens's business
representatives. They paid McNamee for training Clemens,
and for his expenses. From time to time Clemens also
gave McNamee "extra money." Clemens never gave money to
McNamee specifically to buy performance enhancing
substances.
Kirk Radomski recalled meeting McNamee through David
Segui. Radomski confirmed that he supplied McNamee with
human growth hormone and anabolic steroids from 2000 to
2004. Although McNamee never told Radomski the
performance enhancing substances obtained were for
anything other than McNamee's personal use, Radomski
concluded that McNamee was distributing the substances
to others based on the amounts he purchased and the
timing of the purchases.
Radomski knew McNamee was acting as personal trainer
for Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Chuck Knoblauch
(among others), and he suspected McNamee was giving the
performance enhancing substances to some of his clients.
Occasionally, McNamee acknowledged good performances by
Knoblauch or Clemens by "dropping hints," such as "[h]e's
on the program now." McNamee never explicitly told
Radomski that either Clemens or Pettitte was using
steroids or human growth hormone. According to Radomski,
however, McNamee asked Radomski what types of substances
Radomski was providing to pitchers.
Radomski delivered the substances to McNamee
personally. Radomski recalled numerous performance
enhancing substance transactions with McNamee. Radomski
also sometimes trained some of McNamee's
non-professional athlete clients.
Radomski produced four checks from McNamee that were
deposited into Radomski's checking account and drawn on
McNamee's checking account. All the checks were dated in
2003 and 2004, after McNamee said that he supplied
Clemens, Pettitte, and Knoblauch. McNamee said these
purchases were for non-baseball clients.
McNamee's name, with an address and telephone number,
is listed in the address book seized from Radomski's
residence by federal agents. Radomski's telephone
records show twelve calls to McNamee's telephone number
from May through August 2004. Radomski was unable to
obtain telephone records dating back to the time when,
according to McNamee, McNamee was injecting Clemens.
Clemens appears to be one of the two people
associated with baseball -- Andy Pettitte is the other
-- who have remained loyal to McNamee after he left the
Yankees. Clemens has remained a source of income for
McNamee up to and including 2007.
Prior to my interviews of McNamee he was interviewed
by federal officials on several occasions, during each
of which they informed McNamee that he risked criminal
prosecution if he was not truthful. I was advised by
those officials that on each occasion he told them about
the performance enhancing substance use of Clemens, Andy
Pettitte, and Chuck Knoblauch (Pettitte and Knoblauch
are discussed below).
In order to provide Clemens with information about
these allegations and to give him an opportunity to
respond, I asked him to meet with me; he declined.