Roger Clemens didn’t have to testify in front of Congress. His Roger Goodell sized ego and James Harrison like stupidity told him to lie in front of congress. Sorry, allegedly lie.
Steroids in baseball aren’t a big issue in the grand scheme of the world. Aids, murders, poverty should probably be put ahead of cheating in a game. However, lying under oath isn’t something to be taken lightly.
It’s a shame that two guys could get off scot-free for perjuring.
Regular readers of mine know that I hate steroids with a passion. The fact that everyone was doing it is no excuse. What if everyone was jumping off a cliff? That’s what Mom teaches you when you’re 10. I hated to see Barry Bonds get off without even a slap on the wrist.
This is not about steroids though.
Related: Musings on the 2011 Hall of Fame Class
Baseball is a game. However, when the government gets involved the game becomes life. The consequences of your actions are no longer within the game. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens supposedly understood what was happening and proceeded accordingly.
Bonds’ trial has been called a waste of the taxpayer’s money by many. The Roger Clemens trial is facing the same criticism on top of the potential for a second trial costing more money. Nevertheless, just because the issue involved is about a game doesn’t mean that the law shouldn’t be enforced. There are bigger issues in the world but perjuring under these circumstances is hardly different from lying under oath at a murder trial.
It’s a sham that Roger Clemens could get off scot-free because of an inexcusable mishap. Maybe the prosecution misremembered that the evidence they presented was deemed inadmissible?
Clemens’ situation is far different from Bonds’. He wasn’t subject to an investigation. Clemens wanted to throw the middle finger to the world by testifying. He wanted prove to the haters that he wasn’t on steroids. He thought he could make a mockery out of the system to repair his image. He flat out lied to a panel of Congressmen and got caught in a web of misremembers.
He ought to be punished for it.
At this point it isn’t personal. Roger Clemens disgusts me but that isn’t why he should be punished or why the prosecution should continue pushing for a re-trial. The law is the law. Perjury is a felony.
He didn’t simply lie to the media about steroids like so many have. Lying publicly about the issue is child’s play. Roger Clemens’ mind was on the school grounds playing cops and robbers. He didn’t realize what he had gotten himself into.
Marion Jones was sent to prison after insurmountable evidence finally forced her admission of guilt. She lied to a federal grand jury and spent 6 months in prison for it.
That didn’t happen to Barry Bonds.
It will be a shame if Roger Clemens also finds his way off the hook.
--Chris Ross
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