The Yankees have never relished the destructive defamation suit former pinstripe hero Roger Clemens brought two years ago against his accuser, former Yankee trainer Brian McNamee, but bigger headaches for the club may yet lie ahead according to a new appeals-court brief issued by McNamee's defense attorneys.Great, more steroid nonsense for the Yankees during spring training. What else is new?
A footnote deep in the 60-page brief lists current Yankee stars Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter as witnesses McNamee might call to the stand for sworn testimony about Clemens' purported use of steroids and human growth hormone. Also listed among potential witnesses for McNamee is Angela Moyer, an alleged mistress of Clemens who tended bar near the Upper East Side apartment where McNamee said he visited Clemens after Yankee games to inject the pitcher with steroids and human growth hormone (Clemens has testified he thought the syringes contained vitamin B12).
The brief, which McNamee's attorneys sent Friday to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, portrays Clemens' defamation suit as nearly dead in the water. It comes in response to Clemens' appeal of a lower court's ruling last year that eviscerated the suit, which Clemens first brought against McNamee on Jan. 6, 2008, three weeks after a report by former Senator George Mitchell first publicized McNamee's accusations.
Mitchell was also listed as a potential witness. He and the others could also be summoned to testify as part of a defamation countersuit that McNamee himself brought against Clemens last year in a federal court in Brooklyn -- and will likely pursue, at least in order to recover his monumental legal fees.
Ben, over at River Ave. Blues, sums up the situation better than I can:
If McNamee’s brief is as convincing as the Daily News says it is, the Yankees could be free of having to send their star players to testify. McNamee’s side could file for summary judgment and hope to get the case’s original dismissal affirmed. However, McNamee will continue to push his countersuit in Brooklyn, and only a settlement would stave off a trial.Not that having these two testify would really hurt the Yankees--there aren't two better guys in baseball that could handle this--but I'd rather not have to hear any more about this crap. Let this case come and go without needing to bring anyone else into the mix. Whoever wins isn't an issue, both Clemens and McNamee are losers in my book.
You know, if they had just kept David Wells the Yankees would never had to deal with any of this. Thank you, Roger.
