Albert Pujols won’t say if he’s taking legal action against Jack Clark

Albert Pujols declined Friday to confirm whether he still planned to pursue legal remedies against Jack Clark, who alleged on a St. Louis radio show that Pujols had used steroids.

“I don’t want to talk about that,” Pujols said.

Pujols said he stood by the statement he issued last Friday, in which he denied using performance-enhancing substances and said he was “in the process of taking legal action” against Clark and the radio station that aired his show.

Clark since has been fired by InsideSTL Enterprises, the company that employed him and bought the air time from the station. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Clark’s co-host said the president of the company told him it could not cover the $15,000 insurance deductible for a lawsuit. However, Clark has said he stands by his allegations.

Pujols said he did not wish to discuss the matter inside the Angels clubhouse.

“I think it’s disrespectful to bring that distraction here,” he said. “I said what I had to say in the statement.”

Pujols has not played since July 27, when he tore the plantar fascia tissue in his left foot. Pujols said his walking boot was removed Friday, for the first time in three weeks. Even with the Angels out of pennant contention, Pujols said he hopes to return this season.

“I have a day in my mind,” he said, without saying what day.

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