Lawyer: Roger Clemens Turned Down Plea Deal

Roger Clemens had a chance to accept a plea deal that included no jail, but reportedly turned down the offer because he would have had to admit he used performance-enhancing drugs.

"The government made a recommendation [for a plea agreement] and we declined," Rusty Hardin, the attorney for the seven-time Cy Young Award winner, told ESPN on Friday. "I will tell you the recommendation they made was a very good one if he was guilty. And if he was guilty we would have jumped on it."

Clemens has repeatedly denied claims that he used steroids or human growth hormone and continued with those assertions Friday, a day after he was indicted on six felony counts stemming from lying to a Congressional panel and its investigators in 2008.

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"It's not fun, but I'm not going to talk about what we have ahead of us," Clemens told Boston radio station WEEI on Friday in his first interview since the indictment was unsealed. "I have a great (legal) team. Rusty has been fantastic. That's really all I'm going to say about it. I'm not going to get into the details. In time we'll get to have our say."

Clemens sent out a tweet after the charges -- which could send the former hurler to prison for up to 21 months under current sentencing guidelines -- were announced, an indictment he said Friday "wasn't really a surprise."

In the radio interview, Clemens was asked if being named in the Mitchell Report and now falling under a federal indictment ruined his chances for the Hall of Fame.

"I didn't play the game to go to the Hall of Fame," Clemens said. "It's a tremendous honor. I played the game because I was taking care of my family."

Hardin has tapped some legal reinforcements. Hardin told ESPN that San Diego-based defense attorney Michael Attanasio, a former federal prosecutor, has joined Clemens' team as co-counsel.

FanHouse analyst Steve Phillips discusses Roger Clemens' legacy: