Houston Club Owner Denies Involvement in Clemens Case

HOUSTON -- Shaun Kelley, the owner of Houston-based Shaun Kelley Weight Control, has been named a person of interest in a case to determine whether baseball star Roger Clemens lied under oath to Congress that he had never used performance-enhancing drugs, according to published reports.

A former employee of Kelley’s tells The New York Times in today’s edition that federal agents asked about the operation of Shawn Kelley Weight Control, as well as whether Clemens knew Kelley, who has not been interviewed by federal agents. The ex-employee also tells The Times that Clemens has visited Kelley’s center the past few years.

Kelly has denied his involvement with performance-enhancing drugs, and describes his relationship to Clemens as “an acquaintance” and later says he met Clemens “a couple” of times. The fitness center, which offers $15,000-a-year memberships, is located three miles from Clemens’ home in an upscale shopping center, according to The Times. Kelley is featured on billboards throughout Houston and was host of a fitness show on a local radio station until the show was recently cancelled, The Times reported.

Kelley advertised the sale of human growth hormone, or HGH, on his Web site in 2002, and in 2005, Kelley’s e-mail address appeared in an online inquiry about purchasing HGH from a Chinese company, The Times reported. Kelley tells The Times he did not actually sell HGH but referred clients to doctors who would prescribe it. As for the e-mail, Kelley says he might have looked up information about the drug online but that he never purchased it. Kelley acknowledged that he has taken HGH but hasn’t done so in years, The Times reported.

In a separate interview with the New York Post, Kelley says Clemens has never been to his center and that he has never done anything with Clemens “except shake his hand.”

“I’ve worked very—I repeat, very—hard to get where I am,” Kelley tells the Post. “I would never jeopardize what I make for a few hundred dollars on a steroid deal. This is ridiculous.”

Kelley boasts on his Web site of training several athletes, including his sister-in-law, Mary Lou Retton, but there is no mention of Clemens.

Brian McNamee, Clemens’ former personal trainer, told Congress last month that he injected Clemens several times with performance-enhancing drugs from 1998 to 2001.