A US judge on Monday chastised Roger Clemens and his former trainer Brian McNamee for coming “precariously close” to violating a gag order for recent comments about the upcoming perjury trial of the former pitching star.
Judge Reggie Walton issued a stern reminder to comply with his order on Aug. 23 last year that barred public comments by parties involved in the case in which Clemens is accused of lying to the US Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.
“These statements cannot go unaddressed out of concern that the public discussion of this case by these individuals will escalate even further,” Walton said in the two-page admonition.
The trial begins on July 6.
“Simply put, the court will neither permit this case to be tried in the media nor countenance any conduct that might taint potential jurors,” he said.
Clemens last week gave an interview to an ESPN radio show at a celebrity golf tournament in Texas, saying he was not in hiding after being charged and that he had received “a ton of support” from fans.
Meanwhile, his former trainer and a likely government witness, McNamee, said in an interview with the Boston WEEI sports radio network he was not involved with performance-enhancing drugs when he worked for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1998 when Clemens was there.
“I didn’t bring it in there ... I did just what was asked and that’s it,” McNamee said on the radio program last week.
Clemens, who won the Cy Young Award seven times in his MLB career, pleaded not guilty in federal court last August to three counts of making false statements, two counts of perjury and one count of obstructing Congress.
In February 2008, Clemens denied using steroids and human growth hormone to the staff of the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and again during a congressional hearing. He was under oath both times.
The accusations that he used the performance-boosting drugs came from McNamee.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set