The Nest

It appears that whether or not Roger Clemens has used steroids will be shrouded in mystery, at least for now. With accusations but no real proof on either side. But his reputation has suffered mightily, perhaps because his difficult behavior in the past earned him a reputaion, and now it’s suffering again: the devoted husband, loving father and great family man, Clemens is being accused by a woman of having a decade-long sexual affair with her, starting when the woman, country pop star Mindy McCready, was only fifteen.

There is no denial on either side that Clemens met McCready at a karaoke bar, well before the singer made a name for herself in country music, or that the two became friends and spent a lot of time together, McCready often joining Clemens and his wife on his private plane. There is also no denial, or possibility of denial, that McCready has developed quite a reputation of her own, dabbling in drugs and a wide variety of erratic behavior from crime to attempted suicide.

The question is, did Clemens really have an affair with McCready? According to the New York Daily News, McCready said yes, they did. Clemens is flat out denying it, and the numerous reports implicating him with other women as well. But let’s face it, he’s stood before a panel in congress and flat out denied steroid abuse…would this be much of a stretch for him?

Clemens has retired from baseball (at least, that’s what he says today). So his real concern now is his legacy. He’s weathered plenty of complaints about his behavior in the past, and his fans readily forgave him as long as he still threw strikes. But Clemens may have just racked up two strikes of his own, and is staring an out in the face.

Part of the problem may be his steadfast denial of everything: no affair, no drugs, no no no. In recent steroid and bad-behavior cases, fans have been willing to embrace their heroes who admit to bad choices, apologized, and promised (then delivered) better behavior in the future. Clemens seems to resent even the implication that he might be less than superhuman. He holds himself above all the accusations, despite everything, and expects his fans to take his word, no matter how shaky his foundation appears.

This might have worked in the era of Babe Ruth. But today, fans are a more skeptical and savvy bunch. We’ve weathered too many celebrity and political scandals, seen too many heroes of past and present exposed by the media as less than heroic. This has done two things: first, it makes protestations of innocence immediately suspect.

But second, it makes it easier to be forgiven. Athletes and celebrities are held to a different set of standards than the rest of us. Fans are understanding of the enormous pressure on them, the constant invasion of privacy they undergo, and we ask ourselves: are we really any better, if our lives were to be exposed in such a way?

The one thing they will not forgive: a refusal to see one’s own wrongdoing. Even if Clemens is innocent, it may be better for him in the end to admit to at least some bad behavior and let the whole situation go away by itself. But then, that may not be possible for a personality like Clemens; like Caesar, he may be willing to sacrifice all in the belief that his fans will believe him always.

roger clemens, steroids, brian mcNamee, mike piazza, red sox