Clemens urges no rush to judgment on steroid report

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Roger Clemens, fighting to save his tarnished reputation as a great baseball pitcher, issued a fresh denial on Tuesday that he used steroids and urged the public "not to rush to judgment" about him.

Because of the accusations in the Mitchell report issued last week, Texas high school baseball coaches may drop Clemens as a speaker at their convention next month.

Members of the coaches organization met on Tuesday to consider removing him, but said in a statement: "We feel more information is needed before a decision is reached. This decision should come in the near future."

Clemens, 45, was scheduled to speak to the coaches on January 12 about how he prolonged his career through intense physical workouts.

The seven-time Cy Young Award winner, who grew up in Texas and lives in Houston, said he had never used performance-enhancing drugs as alleged in a report by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell.

"I did not take steroids, human growth hormone or any other banned substances at any time in my baseball career or, in fact, my entire life," Clemens said.

"Those substances represent a dangerous and destructive shortcut that no athlete should ever take."

Clemens first denied the Mitchell report charges through his Houston attorney last week.

He said he was disappointed his 25 years in public life "have apparently not earned me the benefit of the doubt, but I understand that Senator Mitchell's report has raised many serious questions."

Clemens said he would answer the allegations "at the appropriate time in the appropriate way."

Mitchell, hired by Major League Baseball to investigate steroid use, named more than 80 players as users of performance-enhancing drugs.

Clemens has been a Major League ballplayer since 1984 with the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Houston Astros.

He pitched for the Yankees last season, but has said he had not decided whether he wants to pitch again in 2008.

Clemens' teammate and friend Andy Pettitte, who also lives in Houston, admitted over the weekend he had used hormone growth hormone, as alleged in the Mitchell report, briefly to help recover from an injury in 2002.

(Reporting by Jeff Franks, editing by Philip Barbara)