by Matthew Hay Brown
After days of watching Roger Clemens and former trainer Brian McNamee trade charges in the media about his alleged steroid use, Rep. Henry A. Waxman has invited them to bring their dispute to Washington.
Clemens, McNamee and others are listed as witnesses at the Jan. 16 hearing of Waxman’s House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform into the charges leveled by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell in his report on the use of performance-enhancing substances in baseball.
McNamee, a former strength coach with the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees, told Mitchell that he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone during the 1998, 2000 and 2001 seasons.
Clemens has denied ever using performance-enhancing substances; in an interview to air Sunday on 60 Minutes, the seven-time Cy Young Award winner told Mike Wallace that McNamee injected him with vitamin B12 and lidocaine.
Andy Pettite, a teammate and friend of Clemens who has said that McNamee injected him with human growth hormone, also is listed as a witness, as are former All-Star second baseman Chuck Knoblauch and former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski, another Mitchell informant.
Earlier, Waxman invited baseball commissioner Bud Selig, player’s union chief Donald Fehr and Mitchell to testify before the Oversight Committee.
Congressional leaders have said the use of performance-enhancing substances sets a dangerous example for youth.
“The Mitchell report is sobering. It shows the use of steroids and human growth hormone has been and is a significant problem in Major League Baseball,” Waxman said last month. “And it shows that everyone involved in Major League Baseball bears some responsibility for this scandal.”