President Donald Trump announced he would givebaseball pitching legend Roger Clemens, whom he called “one of the greatest athletes and maybe the greatest pitcher of all time,” the presidential Medal of Freedom.
Trump complained that Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, has never been elected to Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame because of allegations he used steroids while playing. But Trump announced at a San Antonio rally that he would give Clemens the country’s highest civilian honor.
“He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, but this is a big step up from the Hall of Fame,” Trump said. “Along with the congressional Medal of Honor, it’s the highest award bestowed upon anyone.”
Clemens, who had introduced Trump at the rally, returned
to the stage in a blue USA baseball cap to shake Trump’s hand and voice his appreciation for learning about the honor in his home state.
“I’m stunned,” Clemens said. “This supersedes anything that I’ve done in my playing career.”
Clemens is the second baseball star Trump has tried to rehabilitate through his advocacy.
Trump had pushed for Pete Rose, who gambled on baseball as manager of the Cincinnati Reds and lied about it for 15 years before dying September 2024 at the age of 83, to be allowed in the Hall of Fame. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred resurrected Rose's chances after he died.
Clemens is undisputedly one of the greatest players in baseball history.
But he was mentioned in the 2007 Mitchell Report that investigated steroid use in the sport, and he failed to receive enough votes in 10 appearances on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.
Clemens has for years vehemently denied the accusations. He testified in front of Congress and said that he never used performance-enhancing drugs.
He was indicted by a federal grand jury on six counts of perjury, contempt and making false statements to Congress, spent millions of dollars defending himself, and won.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump to give controversial baseball icon Roger Clemens the Medal of Freedom
