Roger Clemens Linked to Usage of Performance-Enhancing Drugs

According to the latest media reports, New York Yankees starting pitcher Roger Clemens has been linked to the usage of performance-enhancing drugs through the Mitchell Report, which is going to be released today at 2PM. If Roger Clemens did use steroids over the course of his career, this could be devastating not only for Clemens and his fans, but for the entire game of baseball. Of course, sufficient evidence needs to be found or presented for us by the report to give any serious consideration to this issue.

A seven time Cy Young Award winner, Clemens has certainly left his mark on the game of baseball. No pitcher has ever won more than 5 Cy Young Awards. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest pitchers ever. Clemens made his Major League debut with the Boston Red Sox, and played there for 13 seasons. He also spent time with the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, and the Houston Astros. With New York, he won two World Series championship rings.

If the Mitchell Report does list Roger Clemens as a potential user of performance-enhancing drugs, it will only amplify the problem as a whole. When one of your sport's brightest stars uses performance-enhancing drugs, denies it, then gets caught lying, the game of baseball gets tainted even more. Last season, Jason Grimsley, a relief pitcher, called out Clemens and his teammate, Andy Pettitte, for using performance-enhancing drugs last season, but Clemens outright denied it.

There will be several ramifications if Clemens is caught with sufficient evidence linking him to the use of these drugs. Like Barry Bonds, people who once followed Roger Clemens and appreciated everything that he contributed to the game, will see him in a whole new light. All of his records that he posted, and the championship teams that he played for, will all be tainted, and possibly removed from the record books.

Veterans are having an increasingly difficult time accepting the fact that eventually, their careers will come to an end. If Roger Clemens never used performance-enhancing drugs, then he is a legend we will all remember for years to come, and he is a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame. If it does turn out that he used these drugs, then he will become no more respected than Barry Bonds is to this day: a talented player, but a cheater.

Psychologically, Clemens will have to deal with the outcome too. His family and friends and the teams he pitched for will never see him the same way.