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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Pujols and Jack Clark|Settle Slander Lawsuit

CLAYTON, Mo. (CN) - The legal fight between baseball superstar Albert Pujols and former star Jack Clark appears to have ended.

Pujols claims in a defamation lawsuit that Clark had became a struggling radio personality who tried to increase his ratings by claiming that Pujols used performance-enhancing drugs. Pujols, who led the St. Louis Cardinals to World Series championships in 2006 and 2011 and now plays for the Anaheim Angels, sued Clark in St. Louis County Court in October 2-13.

As part of the settlement, Clark issued a public retraction of his statements Monday night.

"I would like to address Albert Pujols' pending defamation lawsuit and reconfirm that I have no knowledge whatsoever that Mr. Pujols has ever used illegal or banned PEDs," Clark said in a statement.

"I publicly retract my statements that Albert Pujols used such substances. During a heated discussion on air, I misspoke, and for that I sincerely apologize."

Pujols is expected to drop the lawsuit and released a statement of his own, saying: "I have accepted Jack Clark's retraction and apology to resolve my lawsuit against him and clear my name."

Clark made the comments about the three-time MVP in August on his local sports talk radio show, "The King and The Ripper." Clark said that he knew for a fact that Pujols was "a juicer," a slang term for a player using steroids.

Clark and co-host Kevin Slaten were fired, the show was canceled and the company that produced the show apologized to Pujols.

Clark, who played for the Cardinals from 1985-1987 in the middle of a 17-year playing career, was the only defendant in the Pujols suit.

The suit took several twists and turns. At one point, Clark's attorneys offered a settlement agreement that included dueling lie detector tests , which was quickly rejected by Pujols' attorneys.

Despite signing with the Angels in December 2011, Pujols still makes his home and bases his charitable foundation in St. Louis.

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