Clemens and the coaches

I'm glad to see this.

Roger Clemens, whose legacy as one of the major leagues' all-time greatest pitchers has come under recent scrutiny, has an invitation to speak at the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association Convention on Jan. 12, according to association president and Brenham baseball coach Jim Long.

After he was named in Major League Baseball's Mitchell Report as a user of performance-enhancing drugs, it was uncertain if Clemens, whose speech is titled "My Vigorous Workout, and How I Played So Long," would be kept on the itinerary.

Long said the association's six officers spoke and unanimously agreed to keep Clemens on the list of speakers.

"It's something we all decided together as a group, and we stand behind that decision together," Magnolia coach and association public relations secretary Dale Westmoreland said Monday.

Humble coach and group president-elect David Sitton said the officers thought they shouldn't presume Clemens, 45, is guilty.

"The biggest thing is that it's just an allegation," Sitton said. "We're not the judge or jury in this situation."

I'm grateful to see that someone still remembers that an accusation is not the same thing as proof, especially when that accusation was made by someone with an incentive to enhance what he's saying. I don't know if Clemens is guilty or not, and that's the point - none of us observers knows or can know, at least at this time. He's denied the charges, and you can believe him or not, but you can't know.

It's a pretty simple concept, one that's fundamental to our society, and yet there's a whole passel of sportswriters out there who are ready to cast him out based on nothing more than one person's say so. It's depressing, though sadly not surprising.

Now here's a question for you: Suppose we learn some day that so-called "performance enhancing drugs" really do no such thing - at best, they have no effect; at worst, they increase the odds of injury. Some evidence to this effect already exists. Does this change your mind at all? Is it really "cheating" if you don't actually gain an advantage, even if you thought you were? Discuss.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on January 02, 2008 to Baseball