Report: Suit by Roger Clemens dismissed

NEW YORK, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- The defamation suit Roger Clemens filed against former trainer Brian McNamee has been dismissed by a federal judge in Texas.

The suit, filed Jan.6, 2008, was dismissed with prejudice by U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison in Houston. The Aug. 28 ruling means Clemens' attorney, Rusty Hardin, cannot sue again, the New York Daily News reported Saturday.

The decision clears the field for the defamation countersuit McNamee filed against Clemens in New York.

"I'm glad it's going to Brooklyn, where it should be," McNamee's lawyer, Richard Emery, told the newspaper Friday.

Clemens' lawsuit had attempted to refute McNamee's claims that Clemens lied about the star pitcher's use of performance-enhancing drugs in 2007 during a conversation with former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, who was acting as a major league baseball employee while investigating allegations of performance-enhancing drugs by big league players.

Mitchell had said McNamee's claims were not defamatory because they were made while he was assisting a federal criminal investigation.

His December 2007 report included McNamee's accusations and named several other big names in the sport.

Clemens has been the only player to firmly deny the claims.