Justice denies claims against him in Mitchell report

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David Justice, one of 22 New York Yankees players past and present named in the Mitchell report, denied Friday that he used performance-enhancing drugs and urged Roger Clemens should speak for himself if he didn't use steroids.

Justice on "The Herd"

David Justice tells ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd that he never used steroids or HGH and addresses the Mitchell report, which said he purchased steroids from Kirk Radomski. Listen

Justice was one of 86 players linked Thursday by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to illegal use of performance enhancers. The 45-year-old Clemens, considered the biggest name attached to the 409-page report, vehemently denied through his lawyer of ever using banned substances.

"I've never seen Roger do anything nor have I ever had a conversation with him [about steroids]," Justice, appearing as a guest on the "The Herd" on ESPN Radio, said Friday. "He should be doing what I'm doing. He should be talking about it. If you really didn't do it, say something about it. At least have a conversation about it."

Much of the information on Clemens in the Mitchell report came from Brian McNamee, the former Yankees strength and conditioning coach. Clemens and Justice were New York teammates in 2000 and 2001; Justice joined the team at the July 2000 trade deadline.

In his interview with ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd, Justice said he was approached by McNamee in the days after joining the Yankees and, knowing Justice had been nursing a groin injury, McNamee encouraged him to try human growth hormone.

Justice said he refused to try HGH because he doesn't like needles but said he would have tried it had it been in pill form.

Former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski identified a number of former and current players to whom, he said, he had sold steroids and HGH. Checks and money orders, mailing receipts or shipments, and statements of other witnesses were used to back up Radomski's allegations. Much of this was found in Radomski's seized telephone records.

According to the Mitchell report, Radomski said he made one sale to Justice, which occurred after the Yankees won the 2000 World Series. Justice paid Radomski by check for two or three kits of HGH, the report said, and Radomski said that he cashed this check.

Also in the report, according to McNamee, Justice admitted in a conversation that he had obtained HGH from Radomski. Justice on Friday denied he'd ever met Radomski and that McNamee approached him and discussed the merits of HGH. The Mitchell report did not provide a copy of the supposed check written by Justice to Radomski.

Mitchell said in the report Justice did not respond to a request to meet with him.

Justice said people who know him know that he didn't do steroids and giving his side of the story on ESPN Radio "my only recourse."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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