Mcnamee Hires Own Lawyer

[sifuwong]

Trainer adds lawyer for Clemens doping fight: report

NEW YORK (AFP) - Trainer Brian McNamee is adding a prominent New York attorney to his legal team as he tries to fight claims by Major League Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens that McNamee lied when naming the ace a dope cheat.The New York Times reported Saturday that Richard Emery, who in October won a major settlement in a case regarding inmates being strip-searched, is set to assist McNamee's legal team in defending McNamee in allegations by Clemens.

McNamee, who worked with New York Yankees pitchers Clemens and Andy Petitte for years, revealed in the Mitchell Report on doping in baseball earlier this month that both pitchers had used performance-enhancing drugs.

Clemens, 45, has denied using such drugs and assembled a legal team that will try to challenge the credibility of

McNamee's revelations to the panel that conducted a 20-month probe into baseball doping. "If Roger Clemens continues to play fast and loose with the truth and he continues to call Brian McNamee a liar then we will proceed with a defamation suit," Emery told the Times.

"It is one of the only avenues Brian has to defend himself against the claims that he lied."

More than 80 players were named in the report as having links to doping, including Clemens, whom McNamee said he injected with steroids numerous times in 2000 and 2001 as well as 1998 when he played for Toronto.

Clemens is expected to answer questions about the case for the first time on January 7, one day after the airing of a television interview he gave on the topic.

US lawmakers have scheduled hearings on January 15 and 23 with major league commissioner Bud Selig, union boss Don Fehr and former US Senator George Mitchell about the findings.