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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted at 12:13 a.m., Tuesday, December 23, 2008

MLB: Report: Clemens' ex-trainer sues for defamation

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Roger Clemens' former personal trainer has filed a defamation lawsuit against the seven-time Cy Young award winner, the New York Post reported Tuesday.

Brian McNamee, who told federal investigators that Clemens used performance-enhancing drugs, claims the Rocket libeled and slandered him following the release of George Mitchell's report on drug use in baseball. McNamee is seeking $10 million from his former client, according to a summons filed in Queens Supreme Court last week.

Clemens filed his own defamation suit against McNamee in January after the trainer said in the Mitchell Report that he regularly injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone. Clemens later told a congressional committee under oath that he had never taken steroids.

In the federal case in Texas, McNamee's attorneys claim the trainer was forced to talk to investigators under threat of prosecution, rendering him immune from any defamation lawsuit. A federal prosecutor backed up McNamee's claim, but a judge has yet to rule on his request to toss the case.

Clemens has one month to respond to the Queens lawsuit.