Roger Clemens calls the report "dangerous and malicious and reckless." Andy Pettitte insists he never took banned drugs. Miguel Tejada says he is being smeared again by scandal.
Some of baseball's biggest stars responded with denials and denunciations Sunday following a Los Angeles Times report in which former pitcher Jason Grimsley accused five players of using performance-enhancing drugs, according to a federal agent's affidavit. The other players cited were Baltimore teammates Brian Roberts and Jay Gibbons.
Grimsley once played with Clemens and Pettitte on the New York Yankees and is now out of baseball. The reliever has admitted using a variety of banned substances and was suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball.
Clemens and Pettitte, now teammates on the Houston Astros, denied the allegations Sunday.
"I just think it's incredibly dangerous to sit out there and just throw names out there," Clemens said Sunday before the Astros played in Atlanta on the final day of the regular season. "I haven't seen (the report), nor do I need to see it."
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| Roger Clemens sounds off on Grimsley's accusations. (AP) |
Clemens said he has been tested "plenty of times" and passed every test.
Pettitte was "stunned" by the report.
"I played with Grimsley for a couple of years in New York and had a great relationship with him," the pitcher said before the Astros' game.
"I've never used any drugs to enhance my performance in baseball. I don't know what else to say except to say it's embarrassing my name would be out there."
In June, federal agents searched Grimsley's home in Arizona after the pitcher admitted using human growth hormone, steroids and amphetamines. Grimsley later was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
In a search warrant affidavit signed by IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky, the Times reported, he said Grimsley identified other players who had used drugs. Those names were blacked out when the document was released.
"As for Jason Grimsley's affidavit, we have no information regarding how it was obtained or its accuracy," MLB spokesman Richard Levin said Sunday.
