Major League Baseball

Gossage: Clemens lying about PEDs

Published Jun. 22, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

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Goose Gossage doesn't want "cheating" Roger Clemens to join him in the Hall of Fame.

The Yankees legend went off against steroids and alleged performance-enhancing drug users Thursday in an interview on ESPN Radio's "The Michael Kay Show."

Gossage believes Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young winner, has lied about steroids, despite the verdict Monday that he was not guilty of perjuring himself in front of Congress when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs.

"Are we going to reward these guys for cheating?" Gossage said. "Even though he was found innocent, I think it was because of the bad testimony. No one believed (Brian) McNamee and (Andy) Pettitte kind of changed his thing, 'Did I really hear what he told me?'"

Gossage likened the verdict to one very famous celebrity trial.

"O.J. Simpson, did you believe that he didn't kill those two people?" Gossage said.

The hard-throwing right-hander was a teammate of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco in Oakland at the end of his career. He said watching McGwire, another accused steroid cheat, in batting practice was like watching "a machine" and "not a human."

He did have kind words, though, for the controversial Canseco, who was one of the first baseball players to admit using performance enhancers in his tell-all book.

"Canseco is the only guy that has come clean," Gossage said. "Like him or not, he's telling the truth. These guys lie, lie, lie, lie, lie. Roger, I think is in the same boat."

Gossage said steroids were not prevalent when he played, but had they been he "probably" would have used them. But that hasn't made him change his mind about Clemens.

"I think there's some validity to him using, and absolutely they do not belong in the Hall of Fame," he said.

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