Roger Clemens has denied a report that he had a 10-year affair with country music star Mindy McCready, although he confirmed having a long-term relationship, his lawyer told the New York Daily News for a report Monday.

Clemens had a long affair with the country star that began when she was a 15-year-old performing in a karaoke bar and he was a 28-year-old married father of two, the Daily News reported, citing several unnamed sources.

Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said the pitcher said the relationship was not sexual, the Daily News reported.
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"He flatly denies having had any kind of an inappropriate relationship with her," Hardin said, the newspaper reported. "He's considered her a close family friend. ... He has never had a sexual relationship with her."

McCready had traveled on Clemens' plane and the pitcher's wife also knew McCready, Hardin said, the Daily News reported.

Details of the alleged affair could come out in several projects McCready is working on, including a documentary and a reality TV show, the Daily News reported.

This news could play a part in Clemens' defamation lawsuit against former trainer Brian McNamee, because part of the Rocket's suit is based on his character. That character could be damaged now by news of an extramarital affair.

Clemens is also under investigation for perjury for his testimony to Congress.

"The issue in Roger's suit against McNamee is Roger's reputation and how it has been damaged," a lawyer for McNamee, Richard Emery, said to the Daily News. "If it's proved that he's a philanderer, his reputation is already damaged. When you sue for defamation, you put your whole reputation in the community at issue. Anything is fair game, including his claim of sanctimonious purity. We would cross-examine him and other witnesses who might impact on his alleged behavior. We would probably subpoena her and witnesses who knew (of the relationship). ... All is fair game."

Clemens was with Red Sox teammates in a Fort Myers, Fla., bar when he saw McCready performing, the Daily News reported. She was just 15 but apparently caught his eye, the newspaper reported, and the two met.

Clemens continued to see McCready and support her over the years even as she was involved in an abusive relationship with another man, was briefly engaged to actor Dean Cain and nearly overdosed while pregnant, the Daily News reported. The pitcher would send bundles of cash to help McCready, the Daily News reported, citing several unnamed sources.