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."
Roger Clemens sounds off on Grimsley's accusations.
(AP)
"For the people involved it is very dangerous and malicious and reckless
on the part of somebody ... to put something out there with somebody
else's writing on it," he added.
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.
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