One Person Should Have Your Sympathy During the Clemens Hearing

Veins bulged. Wills withstood pressure that could have bent steel. It was the World Series...of sorts. As my father's arm started to buckle and fall toward the Table of Defeat, I began to understand why grown men would tackle each other after a victory of this magnitude.

I had just beaten my father in arm wrestling for the first time. For an instant after his defeat, I too wanted to run onto a field and pile on whoever was near me. Then, it hit me. I had just beaten Superman. This sobering thought took me off my imaginary field of victory and put me in the dugout of the losers. How could someone that powerful fall?

Twenty-one year old, Astros farmhand Koby Clemens may not be able to beat his father in an arm wrestling competition considering that it looks more and more likely that Pops used PEDs. But what must he feel at this moment? His father was not only a hero to him but millions of people around the world.

In high school and even now, spectators probably drew unfair comparisons to his father whenever Koby stepped on the field. Who would have thought that being compared to a future Hall-of-Famer at the age of 17 would be less difficult than the emotions he must have as his baseball season looms? Somewhere in his mind he must wonder if these same spectators will make parallels between him and his father when it comes to morals.

A 3^rd basemen that belted 15 homers in A ball last year, the younger Clemens came to his father’s defense during a training camp held at the end of January. “It kills me that this is happening to my dad. What he's done for the game and what now is being turned back to him for what he's done for the game is tough. It's hard on me, but you can't imagine how hard it is on my dad."

Facing members of Congress would be tough for most people. Remembering which parts of your life are lies and selling out your family is tough for everyone except Roger Clemens. Less than two weeks after Koby attempted to defend his father, it is revealed that his mother, Debbie Clemens, was injected with HGH before a photo shoot. With almost no delay, Koby hears his mom admit to the report.

This is the time of year where Koby should be worrying about positioning himself on defense and staying back on curveballs. Instead, he is forced to worry about his father’s legacy. Maybe that’s the way Roger likes it; all eyes on him. Why else would he have retired and come back so many times?

In the unlikely event that this is some huge, contrived conspiracy, Brian McNamee, Clemens HGH provider, and Andy Pettitte, Clemens’ friend and fellow accuser, owe Koby and his siblings an apology.

When the results show Roger Clemens to be a cheater, he should beg for Koby’s forgiveness. Koby will have lost valuable time of development as a player. More importantly, he will be forced to see his father as a hypocrite for saying there is no substitute for hard work.

When I saw my father buckle under the pressure I created, I felt like a man beating a superhero. With Koby seeing his father crumbling under the pressure of his own lies, I wonder if he sees a boy, someone who needs to prove his manhood. Someone who should understand that any thoughts his son had of him being Superman as a baseball player and as a father will forever be tainted.

How difficult must it be to watch someone so important to you personally and professionally fall?