What would a slander lawsuit entail?
McNamee would argue that Clemens “slandered” him by publicly and dishonestly rebuking him on 60 Minutes. Slander is the oral version of defamation, which also encompasses libel, or defamation by written or visualized material. To establish slander, McNamee would have to show that Clemens’ statements were untrue, injured McNamee’s reputation, and exposed him to public ridicule. Although many persons, including former U.S. Senator George Mitchell and his team of investigators, believe McNamee’s account, McNamee would nonetheless encounter difficulty in establishing slander. For starters, it is unclear that McNamee has suffered a compensable form, or any form, of defamation. Clemens vehemently disagreed with McNamee’s statements, calling them “ridiculous, hogwash” and thus implying, though not stating, that McNamee was a liar. In and of itself, however, a disagreement is not slander. People often disagree about previous events, particularly those that occurred years ago, and each party sa
