Trump says Roger Clemens to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
· Yahoo Sports
Oct. 8 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump said he will award retired MLB pitcher Roger Clemens the Presidential Medal of Freedom, describing the seven-time Cy Young winner as "one of the greatest athletes and maybe the greatest pitcher of all time."
Trump made the surprise announcement Wednesday night while campaigning in San Antonio for state's Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, who is in a close Senate race with Democratic state Rep. James Talarico.
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He announced that he'd give Clemens the award after Clemens introduced Trump to the crowd at Freeman Coliseum.
"We're giving him the presidential medal of freedom," Trump said.
President Trump announces Roger Clemens will receive Presidential Medal of Freedom https://t.co/1pYxQC1hRQ— CSPAN (@cspan) October 8, 2026
During his 24-year career, Clemens played for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and the Houston Astros, and retired at the end of the 2007 season as one of the game's most accomplished pitchers.
Despite his accolades, he has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Clemens is among several star baseball players of the 1990s and 2000s accused of using performance-enhancing drugs during their careers. Though he has denied the allegations, Clemens has remained unelected to the Hall of Fame.
Trump, who is a friend of Clemens, addressed the allegations during his announcement, stating Clemens "never admitted to anything."
"They have no information. They didn't find anything," he said. "He's just a physical monster, okay?"
He then said that they were "taking it into our own hands" and awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
"Forget about the hall of fame. He'll get there someday. I'm mean, I don't know how they keep him out," he said.
Trump has awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to several celebrities and athletes during his two terms in office, including posthumous awards to Elvis Presley and Babe Ruth as well as professional golfer Tiger Woods and announced in February that he would award the medal to NHL goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.