We have earned the right, period.
Non-contradiction And Roger Clemens
In philosophy, there is a law of non-contradiction which can be stated in the following formula: A ≠non-A.
In plain language, the law of non-contradiction says that a thing can't be both what it is and what it is not at the same time.
One of my favorite quotes on the subject comes from the medieval philosopher Acivenna: "Anyone who denies the law of non-contradiction should be beaten and burned until he admits that to be beaten is not the same as not to be beaten, and to be burned is not the same as not to be burned." (emphasis mine)
I love this philosophical law. It sorts out so much of the rubbish we deal with in sports.
Take, for example, the latest bombshell in the "Roger Clemens Vs. Reality" World Tour: the New York Post broke the story that Roger Clemens had been romantically involved with country singer Mindy McCready for ten years, and that the affair started when she was but 15 and Clemens was a 28-year-old professional athlete, husband, and father of two.
The New York Post says it happened. McCready, much like Andy Pettitte did in a similar circumstance (Mitchell Report, anyone?), immediately 'fessed up.
Clemens, predictably, denied the whole affair ever happened. His story is that he was just a friend to McCready, and trying to help get her singing career off the ground.
Here's where we get to apply my favorite philosophical law. Either Clemens is lying about what happened, or he is telling the truth, but it can't be both at the same time.
Paraphrasing Acivenna from above, one must admit that cheating on one's wife with a minor is not the same as not cheating on one's wife with a minor. Either he did it or he didn't, but only one of those options are true.
Here's what we do know: Clemens had some sort of relationship with this woman for the last ten years because he admitted as much. What he's insisting upon is that there was nothing improper about the relationship for the length of its duration.
That's where he lost me.
For me to believe Clemens, I must believe that a 28-year-old man can have some sort of proper, Platonic relationship with a 15-year-old woman, a woman who is not related to him in any way, and that that relationship can consist of traveling together for extended periods of time, and that he was only helping her with her singing career.
So, if it's Roger Clemens, it must be okay...because if it were any other man in any other state in the Union, it would be a little something called "statutory rape."
And beyond any lingering criminal statutes that may apply wherever such things are enforced, why are we concerned with this?
We are concerned because of Clemens' ill-advised defamation of character suit against his former trainer, Brian McNamee. Clemens had the balls to allege that McNamee sullied Clemens' reputation and character by claiming to have injected The Rocket with steroids. The problem here is that Clemens has to be able to demonstrate that he had a character and a reputation that could be sullied, a proposition that is growing more and more remote by the second.
For example, what man of good character and unimpeachable reputation tries to entrap his accuser in a shameless, secretly-recorded phone call ploy? What honest man of good integrity tries to subvert the possible testimony of one of his former employees (a nanny) by having her over to his house before she was due to testify against him?
What well-intentioned 28-year-old man has any sort of private relationship with a 15-year-old girl?
Steroid accusations aside, at the very least we know that Clemens is an adulterer.
It doesn't take much imagination to believe that he could lie to Congress with a straight face for over four hours of questioning, because he lied to his wife with a straight face for ten years and two more children.
An old friend of mine once advised me that if something is 99.9% truth, it's 100% lie.
Either Roger Clemens is completely honest or he's a complete liar.
He can't be both.
In plain language, the law of non-contradiction says that a thing can't be both what it is and what it is not at the same time.
One of my favorite quotes on the subject comes from the medieval philosopher Acivenna: "Anyone who denies the law of non-contradiction should be beaten and burned until he admits that to be beaten is not the same as not to be beaten, and to be burned is not the same as not to be burned." (emphasis mine)
I love this philosophical law. It sorts out so much of the rubbish we deal with in sports.
Take, for example, the latest bombshell in the "Roger Clemens Vs. Reality" World Tour: the New York Post broke the story that Roger Clemens had been romantically involved with country singer Mindy McCready for ten years, and that the affair started when she was but 15 and Clemens was a 28-year-old professional athlete, husband, and father of two.
The New York Post says it happened. McCready, much like Andy Pettitte did in a similar circumstance (Mitchell Report, anyone?), immediately 'fessed up.
Clemens, predictably, denied the whole affair ever happened. His story is that he was just a friend to McCready, and trying to help get her singing career off the ground.
Here's where we get to apply my favorite philosophical law. Either Clemens is lying about what happened, or he is telling the truth, but it can't be both at the same time.
Paraphrasing Acivenna from above, one must admit that cheating on one's wife with a minor is not the same as not cheating on one's wife with a minor. Either he did it or he didn't, but only one of those options are true.
Here's what we do know: Clemens had some sort of relationship with this woman for the last ten years because he admitted as much. What he's insisting upon is that there was nothing improper about the relationship for the length of its duration.
That's where he lost me.
For me to believe Clemens, I must believe that a 28-year-old man can have some sort of proper, Platonic relationship with a 15-year-old woman, a woman who is not related to him in any way, and that that relationship can consist of traveling together for extended periods of time, and that he was only helping her with her singing career.
So, if it's Roger Clemens, it must be okay...because if it were any other man in any other state in the Union, it would be a little something called "statutory rape."
And beyond any lingering criminal statutes that may apply wherever such things are enforced, why are we concerned with this?
We are concerned because of Clemens' ill-advised defamation of character suit against his former trainer, Brian McNamee. Clemens had the balls to allege that McNamee sullied Clemens' reputation and character by claiming to have injected The Rocket with steroids. The problem here is that Clemens has to be able to demonstrate that he had a character and a reputation that could be sullied, a proposition that is growing more and more remote by the second.
For example, what man of good character and unimpeachable reputation tries to entrap his accuser in a shameless, secretly-recorded phone call ploy? What honest man of good integrity tries to subvert the possible testimony of one of his former employees (a nanny) by having her over to his house before she was due to testify against him?
What well-intentioned 28-year-old man has any sort of private relationship with a 15-year-old girl?
Steroid accusations aside, at the very least we know that Clemens is an adulterer.
It doesn't take much imagination to believe that he could lie to Congress with a straight face for over four hours of questioning, because he lied to his wife with a straight face for ten years and two more children.
An old friend of mine once advised me that if something is 99.9% truth, it's 100% lie.
Either Roger Clemens is completely honest or he's a complete liar.
He can't be both.
Comments are closed for this blog post
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Comment by Bill on May 2, 2008 at 12:29am -
I love this story. It would make me queasy had I not already recovered from Rocket Worship, but since I have come to terms with His High Weaselness, it's just brilliant.
The way it unfolded in the media was textbook, microcosmic of the whole steroids era. Accusation, denial and confirmation all went down in 36 hours instead of 36 months. The story comes out, Clemens completely, categorically, vociferously, forked-tonguedly denies it in a statement recycled from the Mitchell Report response, then somebody with intimate, first-hand knowledge of the situation (in this case McCready) confirms the story. 36 hours.
How bad do you feel for Mrs. Rocket? First, he throws her under the congressional bus ("yo, I didn't but I know she did"), then we all learn he has been cheating on her forever, and somehow I doubt that the mistress being fifteen is going to ease that sting. It could be that McCready is old news in the Clemens house, all fessed up and forgotten, but public humiliation has never improved anything.
How was the press conference, Mrs. Spitzer?
The Rocket has no integrity whatsoever. There should be no personal services contract, no Hall, maybe no family - he should not even have the audacity to go out in public for a while.
Two totally unrelated tangents:
From a baseball perspective, does all this mean that Greg Maddux gets his due as clearly the best pitcher of his era?
The age of 18 is kind of morally arbitrary. Judging people under the age of 18 to be completely irresponsible for their actions is absurd. It's not like, on the morning of your 18th birthday, a guy comes to your house to share with you all of the knowledge that the universe has been withholding.
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