A Brilliant Strategy?

A Brilliant Strategy?

As has been posted here before, the incredibly difficult burden of proof in slander/defamation suits makes it highly unlikely that Roger Clemens would bother to sue MLB as a result of the Mitchell Report. Roger has, however, been extremely vehement in his denials of PED use. It has gotten to the point where Brian McNamee has hired an attorney to explore a defamation suit against Rocket (well, I use the term 'hire' loosely as all of McNamee's lawyers have taken his case pro bono (for free).

What if it is Rocket's plan to force McNamee to go forward with a defamation case by screaming on 60 Minutes and in every newspaper in the country that McNamee is a liar? If McNamee were to sue Rocket for slander/defamation he would have the same burden of proof in his case against Roger as Roger would have if he had sued MLB. McNamee would have to not only prove that Roger did, in fact, use PEDs (almost impossible), he would also have to prove that Clemens made the statements to 60 Minutes and the other media in an express effort to harm McNamee. HA! There is truly no way that he can do that; unless, of course, McNamee video taped himself shoving a syringe in Rocket's backside, and also taped Roger confessing that his evil master plan was to ruin McNamee's reputation, NOT to defend his own!

As McNamee's attorneys are not getting paid, they will want as much press and exposure out of their McNamee time as possible. To get max airtime there is little doubt his lawyers will convince McNamee to initiate an unwinnable slander/defamation suit against Roger.

What then? Well, as it is practically impossible to win any defamation suit (let alone one that is purely 'he said, he said'), and as Roger will be paying his attorneys (quite handsomely, I'm sure), Roger would no doubt win that lawsuit.

All Roger has to do is push McNamee into suing him and then the burden of proving an impossible thing would shift to McNamee's lawyers instead of his own.

After inevitably beating McNamee in court (it may take perjury, but that's a topic for another time), Roger could then look into the cameras and say "See! I told you I was clean!"

I have no idea if this is Roger's plan, but Wow! wouldn't it be brilliant if it were!