Trump is giving ex-MLB star Roger Clemens the Medal of Freedom, saying the Hall of Fame has cheated him
Clemens is an accomplished baseball player, but he’s also been plagued with scandals, including allegations of steroid use
Donald Trump has announced that he will honor former MLB star Roger Clemens with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, saying that the Baseball Hall of Fame has cheated him.
Trump listed Clemens' impressive stats at a rally in San Antonio, Texas, Wednesday night, where the one-time superstar pitcher introduced Trump to the stage. The president has been traveling to red states to boost GOP candidates’ chances in the midterm elections as Democrats gain ground. Clemens has been a vocal Trump supporter for several years.
Clemens was a two-time World Series Champion with the New York Yankees and won seven Cy Young Awards, the highest honor for MLB pitchers, during his career. But he has also been mired in controversy over allegations of extramarital affairs and steroid use, which he has denied.
Trump recalled playing a round of golf with Clemens, during which he said, “It's a ridiculous thing that you're not in the Hall of Fame with that kind of a record.”
The president then said, “Forget about the Hall of Fame,” and announced that he was going to give him the Medal of Freedom — the highest civilian honor.
Trump then welcomed Clemens back on stage, and the former baseball player told a crowd of the president’s supporters that he was “stunned.”
“This supersedes anything that obviously I've done in my playing career, and to get it from this man, this president, there wouldn't be another president I'd want to get it from,” Clemens, who is now based in Texas, said, adding that Trump was a “winner” too.
“I can't thank you enough. That's a huge honor,” Clemens told the president.
Clemens will join the likes of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and the Apollo 11 astronauts when he receives the Medal of Freedom.
Trump’s announcement comes more than a decade after Clemens’ former trainer, Brian McNamee, claimed that he injected Clemens multiple times with steroids and human growth hormones from 1998 through 2001.
It was also reported by the New York Daily News in 2008 that Clemens had a decade-long affair with the now-late country music star Mindy McCready.
Clemens has been married to his wife, Debbie, since the 1980s, and they have four children together.
