Remainder of Roger Clemens’ defamation suit against Brian McNamee in Texas dismissed

Rest of Clemens’ suit against McNamee dismissed

NEW YORK — The remainder of Roger Clemens’ defamation suit against Brian McNamee in Texas has been dismissed, leaving the pair to fight their legal battle in New York.

U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison, who threw out most of Clemens’ case in February, dismissed the remainder of the suit on Aug. 28. Clemens initially had sued his former personal trainer in Texas state court in January 2008, a month after McNamee’s accusations against the seven-time Cy Young Award winner were published in the Mitchell Report. The suit was moved a month later from Harris County District Court to federal court in Houston.

The sides will carry on now in federal court in Brooklyn, where McNamee sued Clemens for defamation on July 31.

“I think it’s our game now. He’s on defense. He’s going to have to backpedal,” McNamee’s lawyer, Richard Emery, said Saturday. “We’re suing him for defaming Brian and ruining Brian’s career. It’s a completely different battleground in that sense.”

The dismissal first was reported Saturday by the Daily News. The dismissal was with prejudice, meaning Clemens can’t refile, but he could appeal Ellison’s decision.

McNamee claimed in the Mitchell Report that he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone at least 16 times in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Clemens responded the statements to Mitchell’s staff, which McNamee also repeated to Sports Illustrated’s Web site, were “untrue and defamatory.”

McNamee’s lawyers had moved that Clemens’ lawsuit be dismissed because their client was compelled to cooperate with Mitchell by federal investigators. Ellison agreed, but he initially left intact that part of the suit relating to McNamee’s statements to Andy Pettitte, Clemens’ former New York Yankees teammate. McNamee told Pettitte that Clemens had used HGH and steroids.

In his suit in Brooklyn, McNamee claimed Clemens launched an “intense and coordinated public relations offensive” against the trainer. Clemens went on “60 Minutes” and held a nationally televised news conference to refuse McNamee’s allegations.

Clemens and McNamee repeated their statements to a congressional committee, which then asked the Justice Department to launch a probe into whether the pitcher lied. A federal grand jury in Washington has been investigating Clemens.

“The most important battle is still in Washington, D.C.,” Emery said.

Clemens’ lawyer, Rusty Hardin, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.