When former Boston Red Sox star Roger Clemens faced indictment for misleading Congress

In August 2010, former Boston Red Sox star Roger Clemens was charged with six felony counts of perjury, false statements, and obstructing Congress.

Apparently, the infamous 2007 Mitchell Report reported that he had used steroids during his later MLB years. Clemens was mentioned in the independent investigation report based on the testimony of his former trainer, Brian McNamee.

However, Roger denied these accusations in front of the U.S. Congress, which caused congressional leaders to believe he had lied, so they sent the case to the Justice Department for further investigation.

"Let me be clear. I have never taken steroids or HGH," Clemens told a House committee in 2008.

On August 19, 2010, a federal grand jury at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. charged him with perjury for falsely claiming that he had never used steroids.

Former House committee chairman Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. was utterly disappointed with the former MLB star's false testimony and expressed his despondency, saying:

"When a witness, such as Roger Clemens, lies, as I think he did, he should be held accountable."

Four years later, despite being acquitted of all charges in 2012, Clemens' reputation has been tarnished permanently.

Roger Clemens' Hall of Fame fate

Roger Clemens Press Conference: HOUSTON, TX - JANUARY 7: Pitcher Roger Clemens pauses during a news conference after a taped conversation was played between Clemens and his former trainer Brian McNamee January 7, 2008 in Houston, Texas. Clemens addressed allegations made by his former trainer Brian McNamee in the Mitchell Report that he used performance-enhancing drugs in 1998, 2000 and 2001. Clemens filed a defamation suit against McNamee. (Photo by Dave Einsel/Getty Images)

The reputation of Roger Clemens, the former Boston Red Sox icon, was severely damaged after he was accused of taking steroids, which had a major impact on his chances of getting elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Despite having his name on the ballot for the past ten years, he has never received the 75% of votes required to be elected, with his highest percentage of votes being 65.2% in 2022.

Even after being placed on the Contemporary Baseball Era ballot in November 2022 with eight other candidates, he still failed to make it into the MLB Hall of Fame

"Fred McGriff has been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Contemporary Era committee. Among those who did not receive the necessary 12 votes from the 16-person committee: Barry Bonds, Roger, Curt Schilling, Dale Murphy, Rafael Palmeiro and Don Mattingly." - Jeff Passan

Among all the candidates on the Contemporary Era ballot, 1995 World Series champion Fred McGriff earned his spot in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.