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Roger Clemens' wife says she was injected with drug

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The wife of
former pitching ace Roger Clemens
testified in his perjury trial on Friday
that she received a shot of human
growth hormone from her husband's
ex-trainer, who says he also injected the performance-enhancing drug into
Clemens. Roger Clemens, 49, is on trial for a
second time on federal charges of
lying to a U.S. congressional
committee in 2008 when he denied
using performance-enhancing drugs.
The House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform was
investigating drug use in Major
League Baseball at the time. The trial is nearing its end after nearly
two months of testimony. His first trial
ended in a mistrial last year. Debbie Clemens' testimony, on behalf
of her husband, was meant to
contradict that of Brian McNamee, a
former strength and conditioning
coach whose claims that he
personally injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone
have been the core of the
government's case. McNamee has said Roger Clemens
asked McNamee to inject Debbie
Clemens with human growth
hormone in 2003 ahead of a Sports
Illustrated magazine photo shoot,
and that Roger Clemens was present for the shot given in their Houston
home. Human growth hormone is a drug
that has been used by athletes to
boost performance as well as by
others to limit aging. Debbie Clemens testified on Friday
that it was her idea to get the
injection, which she said occurred in
2000, and that her husband was
away at the time. "It was what I wanted to do," she
said, explaining that she saw the
drug as "a fountain of youth, keep
young kind of thing." She said her husband was not
present and that he did know
anything about the injection at the
time. "Are you sure?" Roger Clemens'
lawyer Rusty Hardin asked. "Absolutely," Debbie Clemens said. New York Yankees' pitcher Andy
Pettitte testified earlier in the trial that
Roger Clemens, a former teammate,
told Pettitte in 1999 or 2000 that he
had taken human growth hormone
but, years later, said he had been referring to his wife's use of the drug. Prosecutors pointed out on Friday
that Roger Clemens in his 2008
deposition testified that his wife's
injection took place in 2003. Prosecutors also sought to suggest
that Debbie Clemens would have only
taken the drug after consultation with
her husband. "You didn't do any research prior to
when you let (McNamee) stick this
needle in you?" asked Assistant U.S.
Attorney Courtney Saleski. Saleski pointed out that a USA Today
newspaper article about human
growth hormone, which Debbie
Clemens testified spurred her to talk
to McNamee about the drug, said it
should only be taken under a doctor's prescription. Shifting in her seat, Debbie Clemens
maintained that it was her idea. "(It
was) spontaneous ... not enough
thought," she said. McNamee has testified he gave Roger
Clemens shots of anabolic steroids
and human growth hormone
between 1998 and 2001. He said he
kept needles, cotton balls, a broken
steroid ampoule and other waste for years, some of which, prosecutors
say, contain Clemens' DNA. Roger Clemens' lawyers have sought
to depict Clemens as a hard-working
pitcher whose stunning late-career
success was the product of dedication
and smart pitching, not performance-
enhancing drugs. He won 354 regular-season games
and is a record seven-time winner of
the annual Cy Young Award as the
best pitcher in his league. Roger Clemens won his final Cy
Young Award in 2004 - the summer
he turned 42 - in his first season with
the Houston Astros. (Reporting By Lily Kuo; Editing by Eric
Beech)
 
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