February 15, 2008

Apparently, it's not just the masses who file wince-worthy lawsuits. Multimillionaire former sports heroes can play too. USA Today reports that embattled pitcher Roger Clemens has sued his former trainer, Brian McNamee, for defamation. Clemens is a public figure, of course, so to prevail under New York Times v. Sullivan he'd have to prove that McNamee accused him of illegal doping - not just falsely - but with "actual malice" or "reckless disregard" for the truth. Color me sceptical, but it looked to me like Clemens, not McNamee, was sweating bullets before the cameras this week. Say it ain't so, Roger.