ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Detectives believed the former New York Yankees trainer who says he injected Roger Clemens with steroids lied to them during the 2001 investigation of a possible rape, according to documents released Tuesday by police.
Police said Brian McNamee denied having sex with a possibly drugged woman in a hotel pool, even though security guards and other witnesses said they saw him.
McNamee hired a New York attorney, who called detectives to arrange an interview.
"I explained to him that his client did talk with me once, and he lied to me," St. Petersburg Police detective Donald Crotty wrote in a report.
The state attorney's office, however, decided not to press charges.
Clemens cited the incident as an example of McNamee's dishonesty in a defamation lawsuit filed Sunday in Texas.
The seven-time Cy Young Award winner says his former personal trainer lied to baseball investigator George Mitchell to avoid prosecution when he said he injected Clemens at least 16 times with steroids and Human Growth Hormone in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Clemens acknowledged receiving injections from McNamee but said they were vitamin B-12 and the painkiller lidocaine.
"The significant thing is, when this guy's rear end is in trouble, does he lie?" said Rusty Hardin, Clemens' attorney.
The defamation suit states: "McNamee's explanation was totally at odds with the conclusions of the police officers conducting the official investigation in St. Petersburg."
Earl Ward, one of McNamee's attorney, denied the St. Petersburg incident had any bearing on his client's credibility. He said McNamee's statement about Clemens was found credible by the staff of former Senate majority leader Mitchell and federal law enforcement officials investigating steroid use in professional sports.
"The bottom line is that allegation in Florida was investigated, and it went nowhere," Ward said.
"It's just an attempt to further damage his character," he said. "It has no relevance."
The records released Tuesday by St. Petersburg police show McNamee was suspected of raping a woman he had met at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort in October 2001. The Yankees were in town to close out the regular season against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and many players and support staff were staying at the upscale resort.
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