Reuters: Sports News: Clemens and accuser McNamee were close, ex-Yankees trainer says

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Clemens and accuser McNamee were close, ex-Yankees trainer says May 23rd 2012, 23:17 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Key witness against Clemens says provided drugs to other players Mon, May 21 2012 Key witness in Clemens trial says he mixed evidence Fri, May 18 2012 Key witness adamant Clemens used drugs, admits lying Thu, May 17 2012 Defense rips accuser in Clemens' perjury trial Wed, May 16 2012 Witness was furious with Clemens over son, handed over evidence Tue, May 15 2012 Analysis & Opinion Military movers, insuring a pitcher's arm, and lobbyists against federal travel caps Former Major League Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens arrives at the federal courthouse in Washington April 16, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Yuri Gripas By Lily Kuo WASHINGTON | Wed May 23, 2012 7:17pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Roger Clemens had a close relationship with his ex-strength and conditioning coach who has said he injected the former pitching ace with performance-enhancing drugs, a retired New York Yankees trainer testified in Clemens' perjury trial on Wednesday. Prosecutors were using the testimony by Eugene Monahan to try to establish a close relationship between Brian McNamee, the government's star witness, who has said he injected Clemens with anabolic steroids and human growth hormone from 1998 to 2001. "They were associates and they were close," Monahan said, describing Clemens' and McNamee's relationship. McNamee worked with Clemens when he pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Yankees. Prosecutors showed a memo Monahan had written for the Yankees in 2000, where he wrote that Clemens "maintains complete confidence and respect" for McNamee. The defense has worked to paint McNamee as a liar who has obtained immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony. Clemens is being tried for a second time on federal charges of lying in 2008 to the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which was investigating drug use in Major League Baseball. His first trial ended in a mistrial last year. Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner as best pitcher, has repeatedly denied taking performance-enhancing drugs or lying to lawmakers, saying that McNamee had injected him with shots of vitamin B12 and the anesthetic lidocaine instead. Monahan testified that McNamee, as a strength and conditioning coach, would not have had access or authority to administer injections to players on the team, particularly a prescription form of vitamin B12 used for head colds, flu or flu symptoms that can be given in a shot. The team kept supplies of vitamin B-12 under lock and key, Monahan said. Asked what Monahan would do if he stumbled on McNamee giving Clemens an injection, he said: "My reaction would be, 'What you got there? What's going on? What's happening?' ... It was not his authority to be engaged in that kind of practice." The trial is scheduled to run until June 8. (Reporting by Lily Kuo; Editing by Peter Cooney) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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