David Justice, Doc Gooden Deny Kirk Radomski's Allegations

In order to drum up publicity for his soon-to-be released book, Kirk Radomski offered a juicy sneak preview of what readers can expect while appearing on ESPN's Outside the Lines last weekend.

And what better way to get the attention of the biggest newspapers in New York than to lob accusations at former Mets and Yankees?

Radomski claims that he twice took urine tests for Doc Gooden while they were both with the Mets in the early '90s and that he sold HGH and steroids to David Justice immediately after the Yankees won the 2000 World Series. Not surprisingly, both Gooden and Justice vehemently deny those allegations.

In an interview with the New York Post, Gooden aptly played the "what do I have to hide?" card:

"That never happened," Gooden told The Post yesterday. "I don't know what he's talking about. I've made mistakes through the years, and I've admitted them, but that never happened. And the way the tests were administered, it couldn't have happened. I've done enough wrong on my own, I don't want to get blamed for something I didn't do."

When most players deny these sort of accusations, they do so because they're worried about their name being sullied. But Gooden? Everybody already knows the guy was on drugs. He tested positive for the first time in 1987 and again in 1994, and there's no real reason to think he wasn't using most of the time in between.

In other words, no one would think worse of him if he admitted Radomski's claims were true, just like no one would think better of him if it turns out the allegations were false. Guys who are using drugs usually try not to get caught -- if he could have gotten away with having a clubhouse attendant take his drug tests, he likely would have tried. But he says he didn't, and since he has no reason to lie (as opposed to Radomski, who's hoping to sell a bunch of books), there's no compelling reason not to believe him.

Justice was even more vocal in his denial, talking to ESPN last night and appearing on Mike & Mike in the Morning on Tuesday. Radomski claims to have sold Justice a package containing HGH and steroids while dropping Justice off at the airport following the 2000 World Series. Not only does Justice deny that ever happened, he denies have even met Radomski.

If Radomski's claims aren't true, surely Gooden and Justice will seek legal recourse, no? It's unclear what Gooden's intentions are, but Justice ruled out that possibility.

"OK, so I go ahead and sue him, just so a couple of other people believe me? I'm not going to waste my money to hire lawyers," Justice said. "I'm not going to spend 200 or 300 grand and go flying all over this country and walking into courtrooms to appease a few people. It's not that serious to me anyway. I'm going to speak out and go back to living my life. I'm not going to let the guy just say anything. Suing him gives his book a little more power and keeps him in the news, which is what he wants. I'm not going to do that."

I think Justice underestimates how many people would be more inclined to believe him if he actually sued. Yes, the legal fees are annoying, but a few hundred thousand is a little less daunting for a player who earned nearly $60 million over his career than the average guy off the street. Yes, it's absolutely unfair to demand that Justice pay a bunch of lawyers before taking him at his word, but that's the situation he's stuck in.