The anticipated summer season of Washington’s “Law & Order SRA” — Spoiled Rich Athletes — has been a ratings disappointment so far. First there was the much-ballyhooed federal perjury trial of pitching great Roger Clemens in July on charges he lied to Congress about using performance-enhancing substances.
We had a day and a half of the Clemens trial before it ended in a mistrial when the prosecution showed jurors evidence that U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton had ruled out. The video was a portion of Clemens’ 2008 appearance before a congressional committee that revealed a teammate had said he told his wife Clemens confessed to using a drug.
Then last week we were supposed to be treated to Albert Haynesworth’s trial in the District, where the Redskins’ former oozing wound faced a charge of misdemeanor sexual abuse after a waitress said he fondled her at the W hotel in February.
We were denied the opportunity of watching Haynesworth squirm in front of a District jury. Hotel officials testified that he told them he never touched the waitress because she was “a little black girl” and that he “doesn’t even like black girls,” according to court documents.
Haynesworth pleaded no contest rather than face that uncomfortable moment.
There is a chance, though, we will see Clemens back in federal court for his own uncomfortable moments. We could know by Friday.
That’s the day Judge Walton scheduled a hearing to determine whether the government should get a second at-bat against Clemens.
Federal prosecutors argued in court documents that the admission of the video portion in question was a mistake and that Clemens is trying to “gain an unwarranted windfall from this inadvertent error.”
Clemens’ lawyers said the mistake was not inadvertent: “When careful, deliberate and detail-oriented prosecutors stand idle like the cat that ate the canary while admittedly improper evidence is played for a jury, any innocent explanation for the prosecutors’ conduct is rendered implausible.”
If Judge Walton rules in favor of prosecutors, the Clemens trial is back on — a show that likely will feature former Yankees teammate Andy Pettitte and others called the testify — and could go on for four to six weeks.
Unless, of course. Clemens goes the Haynesworth route and agrees to a plea bargain.
That’s what Miguel Tejada did more than two years ago when he faced charges of lying to congressional investigators about his knowledge of performance-enhancing drug use in baseball. Tejada pleaded guilty to making a false representation and was sentenced to a year of probation.
In a federal courtroom in March 2009, Tejada apologized to “Congress, the court, all the fans of baseball — especially the kids.”
I don’t see Clemens doing that. Washington’s “Law & Order SRA” may find its audience after all.
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
