Clemens to keep speaking engagement

Rocket to talk to high school coaches at convention in Waco
12/31/2007 9:47 PM ET

By Alyson Footer / MLB.com

HOUSTON -- Roger Clemens will speak at the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association convention on Jan. 12, Brenham head baseball coach Jim Long confirmed on Monday.

"He's adamant about coming, to be quite frank," Long said. "He's adamant about coming, and I know all the coaches want him to come."

Clemens was booked to be the keynote speaker at the convention in Waco prior to the release of the Mitchell Report, which named Clemens as one of more than 80 former and current Major Leaguers as a user of performance-enhancing drugs.

The THSBCA was considering withdrawing its invitation to Clemens, whose speech was to focus on "my vigorous workout, and how I played so long."

After huddling with the officers of the coaches' association, Long gave Clemens a firm stamp of approval and said he's welcome to honor his commitment for the Jan. 12 appearance.

"We're delighted at what they've done, (giving) him the benefit of the doubt we asked the public and everybody else to do," Clemens' attorney, Rusty Hardin, told Houston television station KRIV.

Long has paid close attention to Clemens' numerous denials that he used steroids and feels it would be unfair to the seven-time Cy Young Award winner to declare him guilty without concrete proof.

"We just cannot condemn someone on what we've seen," Long said. "It's not fair. I think about the Duke [University] boys and the lacrosse team [who were falsely accused of rape], and we just can't do that. There's not enough evidence."

There still remains a small chance Clemens' appearance could be canceled, however. Long said the situation would be revisited if "between now and then some concrete evidence came out showing he's guilty," or if Clemens decides that his appearance may create a media circus in Waco that day that would take away from the convention.

Long hopes that Clemens' commitment to address the media the day after his Jan. 6 appearance on "60 Minutes" will deter reporters from staking out the venue in Waco six days later. The convention will be closed to the media.

"Since he'll be on '60 Minutes' Sunday and will address the media, I think all the questions will be answered by then," Long said.

The convention, Long emphasized, is for coaches, not players. Long was dismayed at numerous false reports that Clemens would be addressing high school age kids.

"It's for high school baseball coaches," Long said. "This is for men -- no players, no students, no kids. This is just for grown men. I just want people to understand that."

Alyson Footer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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