Clemens Linked to Golfer's Ex-Wife

May 1, 2008— -- When Roger Clemens raised his hand in Congress to swear he never used steroids, he could not have known that it would lead to a denial that he had an extramarital affair.

But as in many defamation lawsuits, reputations become fair game, and Clemens is finding that his has come under siege.

Reports that the father of four may have strayed from his marriage snowballed on Wednesday, with the revelation in the New York Daily News that Clemens had had a relationship with Paulette Dean Daly, a former wife of the professional golfer John Daly.

The news came after a Daily News report on Monday that the family of country singer Mindy McCready, 33, confirmed that she and the seven-time Cy Young Award winner had an affair.

On Tuesday, the New York Post piled on, naming a second woman and suggesting there was a third.

"Yeah, I've known Roger quite a while and we are friends," Dean Daly told the Daily News. The newspaper reported that the two met at a golf tournament in Palm Springs, Calif., and that the pitcher arranged trips for Dean Daly to Anaheim Stadium so that she could watch him lead the Yankees against the Angels.

Dean Daly declined to comment in detail on the nature of her relationship with the Rocket. "You know what, I'm really uncomfortable talking about this," she told the Daily News. "I'm just going to have to say, 'No comment.'"

Richard Emery, lawyer for Brian McNamee, the trainer who accused Clemens of using steroids, said the pitcher "has made his reputation an issue."

"He has accused my client of damaging that reputation," Emery said. "He claims he was as American as apple pie and a family man, but if the allegations are true than you cannot blame my client for damaging his reputation."

After the pitcher denied the allegations of steroid use before Congress, the FBI launched a perjury investigation, leading Clemens to sue former personal trainer McNamee for defamation.

Emery told ABC NEWS.com that anything pertaining to Clemens' character was fair game in the defense of his client, even if it did not pertain directly to the steroids allegation.

"If the case goes to trial, we'll be calling [McCready] to the stand," he said.

Emery denied that he was behind leaking news of the affair to the Daily News and said he only learned of it when he was asked by the paper to comment.

"This all started with McCready as far as I know. She wants to revive her career."

McNamee's lawyer may be playing hardball by saying they plan to call McCready to testify, but digging up dirt is an expected part of a lawsuit, said Michael McCann, a sports law professor at Mississippi College of Law.

"These things happen in a lawsuit. The other side will attempt to dig up dirt. What makes it seem unseemly is that it's so public. We're learning things about Clemens' life that if true would be pretty damaging," he said.

"If Clemens is found to be lying about an outside sexual relationship, McNamee's lawyer can say: 'If he's lying about one, then he's lying about the other.' Clemens could be telling the truth about everything, but it makes the likelihood that he is telling the truth less believable," he said.

Gayle McCready, Mindy McCready's mother, confirmed the allegations of an affair, and told ABC NEWS.com that Mindy brought Clemens home to meet her family two years ago.

McCready said she knew Clemens was married and had taken her daughter "on some Vegas trips and trips to the [Florida] Keys."

"I knew he was married and it was not something I approved of," McCready said from her home in Fort Meyers, Fla. "He was always the perfect gentleman. He had openness about him and would talk about his kids."

McCready said she thought Clemens met her daughter when she was 17. Their relationship did not become physical until 1998 when she broke up with her then fiancée Dean Caine, who played Superman on ABC's "Lois & Clark."

Mindy McCready could not be reached by ABC NEWS.com, but told the Daily News that she "could not refute anything in the story," the paper published Monday about the affair.

Rusty Hardin, Clemens' Texas-based lawyer, was unavailable for comment. In a statement released Monday to the Associated Press, he called Mindy McCready a "longtime family friend."

"Mindy McCready is a longtime family friend of Roger Clemens and the Clemens family," Hardin said in a statement Monday. "At no time did Roger engage in any kind of inappropriate or improper relationship with her. It is unfortunate that the Daily News has chosen to report anonymous allegations that are completely unfounded, have no basis in fact, and have nothing to do with Roger's baseball career or the issue of steroid use in baseball."