There's plenty of news, commentary and analysis in the fallout of Ryan Braun's overturned suspension. Here's a look at what's being said about the reigning National League MVP:
- Baseball is left facing uncomfortable issues, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca, regarding the leak of Braun's result as well as the break in the chain of custody of his sample.
- The appeals system worked as it should, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, but Braun has nonetheless been victimized by a lack of confidentiality.
- Braun has been dealt a clean slate but, unfairly, a stained reputation, writes Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.
- The ruling is a blow to the testing system that Bud Selig believed would restore baseball's reputation after the steroid era, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo!.
- T.J. Quinn and Mark Fainaru-Wada of ESPN.com outline some of the critical discrepancies between MLB's recounting of the events vs. Braun's.
- MLB and the MLBPA issued statements in response to Braun's comments at a press conference today, blogs Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Here is video from Braun's press conference.
- Confidentiality is certain to be a topic of discussion between MLB and the MLBPA, tweets Haudricourt.
- Braun will be a "rallying point" for MLB and the MLBPA for a long time, tweets Quinn.
What Ryan Braun did was make it so that Baseball will probably never become
an Olympic sport, because WADA is legit , it’s tied to the IOC. That’s why the front office of MLB is upset and why Bud Selig probably is absolving himself of the situation. Ryan Braun just basically destroyed the credibility of the sport and makes that tournament that’s held every three years ( cant even remember now cause that’s how worthless it is now.) irrelevant.
How much culpability does MLB take in how the testing procedure failed though? The legal system thought enough to say Braun cannot be suspended
Nobody failed in the procedure, they only forgot to overnight the FedEx/UPS package to Montreal. Braun said he immediately took a backup sample and it was clean, then why was the original containing more than twice the level of testosterone then has ever been recorded? He must have thought it was him, no it was his herpes treatment. Herpes is the reason why he won the NL MVP.
“Herpes is the reason why he won the NL MVP.”
I’m just waiting to see that on a T-shirt.
Instead of hot streaks, people should say he’s having an outbreak from now on.
I lol’d
haa I remember hearing about the herpes/STD during the season. Hilarous. Anyway somebody did fail in over-nighting, otherwise Braun would be suspended. That is THE failure in the procedure
which to me, combined with the fact that his following test was negative, is reason enough to acquit him ..
ps my bosses name is daniel stern.
I believe you tell me every time your bosses name is Daniel Stern. Which I appreciate. Your boss sounds like a noble leader, a man of strong will & mind. A man who I would follow through the mists of the Avalon.
lol awesome
“It was the best of Daniel Stern’s, it was the worst of Daniel Stern’s…”
To me there is still one underlying problem:
Braun did not prove himself innocent; he merely ‘proved’ that the test was flawed. (And personally, I still believe the test was accurate.)
However, in our society, we operate under the maxim: Innocent until proven guilty.
Since we couldn’t conclusively prove Braun to be guilty, he is therefore innocent.
Gosh, that’s funny, I didn’t realize that’s how things were supposed to work in this country. …You know, that people were supposed to PROVE THEMSELVES INNOCENT??? More borscht, anyone?
Haa, exactly! “Braun didn’t prove himself innocent” because he wasn’t on trial to prove himself innocent. MLB accused Braun of cheating, which is wrong & inconclusive because of MLBs procedure. Braun doesn’t need to prove anything
Haa, exactly! “Braun didn’t prove himself innocent” because he wasn’t on trial to prove himself innocent. MLB accused Braun of cheating, which is wrong & inconclusive because of MLBs procedure. Braun doesn’t need to prove anything
It’s a heck of a lot easier to prove chain of custody issues than the test being a false positive.
Let me give you an example. Suppose you’re accused of a murder you didn’t commit. You also know for a fact that the murder weapon ‘disappeared’ for a day, and was taken home with a police officer or something.
Are you trying to prove that you didn’t do it when it would be incredibly difficult to do? Or are you going to go after the easiest/most likely method and attack the chain of custody issues?
Just because he didn’t fight the validity of the test, it does not mean that he admits to it being accurate. That’s kind of a ridiculous assumption.
Casey Anthony wasn’t guilty either.
There is a big difference between “Court of Law” and “Court of Public Opinion”.
You clearly don’t understand anything that happened here then.
A tainted sample cannot be considered a positive test. Why is that so hard to understand?
It is on MLB to prove him a cheater, which they did not follow proper procedures in doing. That is all we as the public can conclude. The burden-of-proof is upon MLB which they clearly did not have. Now they have rung his name through the mud and continue to do so
Braun called this ‘herpes’ thing out specifically in today’s news conference as another falsehood. Look, none of us know EVERYTHING that took place during this ordeal. I find it really hard to weigh in with an opinion that is based on anything other than limited speculation.
For the record, the guy who stored the sample in his fridge was identified today. People went to his Facebook site, where they learned he was a Cubs fan. Shall we speculate on this as a conspiracy while we’re at it?
Thank you! I can’t *believe* the lengths of the counterfactuals people are going to in here, as well as on MLB dot com, to insist Braun is still obviously guilty.
Rumor has it MLB has looked into pursuing it in the courts system. Which is humorous because the issue was in the procedures that MLB and the MLBPA specifically agreed to.
It’s like MLB saying, “yeah we know we signed that agreement, but we messed up so we think the whole thing should be thrown out”
I can’t believe the conspiracy theories people are coming up with to try to rationalize away the fact that Braun failed a drug test.
JJ (big bumps) Hardy and Braun went “Beast Mode” on a bunch of Milwaukee trash together and got love bumps. Now they Get meds to help them “blast bombs” and keep the breakouts under cotrol for the rest of their career. END OF STORY!
…Baseball is an olympic sport.
And no Chicken Little, the sky is not falling.
…Baseball was an olympic sport.
From Wiki:
At the IOC meeting on July 7, 2005, baseball and softball were voted out of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England, becoming the first sport voted out of the Olympics since polo was eliminated from the 1936 Olympics.[1]The elimination excised 16 teams and more than 300 athletes from the 2012 Olympics. The two slots left available by the IOC’s elimination were subsequently filled by golf and rugby sevens. This decision was reaffirmed on February 9, 2006.
This proves your argument wrong more than it does his.
What’s my argument?
That baseball will never become an Olympic sport because it’s losing credibility. You just validated start_wearing_purple’s point by pointing out that Olympic baseball has been in existence until recently.
I made no such argument. I simply clarified that baseball is no longer an Olympic sport.
Ah I see. I mistakened you for Sean Michael Fairchild. My mistake.
And softball was voted out because american women were close to unbeatable . They were around 183-3 when they lost the last gold medal to Japan. The official explanation was excesive number of sport and lack of gender balance with baseball out.
you haven’t watched the summer olympics very much have you?
Olympic athletes get caught for performance enhancing substances just as often as baseball players do.
And baseball existed in the summer Olympics for decades until 2008. No one cared about it because the best players are playing for professional teams while it occurs, not because it “lost credibility.”
And just how is the World Baseball Classic (is what you were referring to) becoming irrelevant. The next one’s not until 2013. Do people talk about the Winter Olympics in May?
Did you read about the mexican soccer players positive for clembuterol during the Golden Cup in the USA. They were cleared because all the meat in Mexico is tainted with it.
Katherine Witt was cleared by Court and was allowed to compete again.
Baseball is not in the Olympics because americans doent care about it( or for that matter any country but Cuba and Japan).
OG are paid by americans, only the games in the USA and South Korea ended in black numbers, but ruled by corrupt europeans. Since they dont care about baseball , it wont be in the Games unless there is money. And money will come only if MLB players are there. And they will never be there.It would be preposterous to interrupt the season for a farse called OG
If you are given a list of products to avoid you have to avoid them because otherwise you are cheating whether you realize it or not. There are no excuses. It’s only 50 games, he failed in more ways than one.
Lol. I’m sure those 50 games matter when your the franchise player and your co star just left
Wathever, the brewers are still nothing without Prince Fielder and aramis Ramirez never will cover that spot
He played the test the same way he played the game: He cheated. I feel sorry for anyone in a relationship with this guy.
This is a joke, right?
Braun didn’t test positive, a tainted sample did.
Braun fought over chain of custody because it’s much easier to prove than proving a false positive.
He passed a second test the following day. Explain how the PEDs left his system that fast.
Really? Cause I think it was proven today that he didn’t cheat…
You have an interesting definition of “proven”.
Well there are some gray areas, but you know.. lol
Quite possibly the best post in this thread.
– ECB
i’ve literally lost all respect for Ryan Braun, he should be ashamed of himself for what he did and take the high road by sitting out his 50 games. This guy’s a joke
Wouldn’t that be voluntarily hurting his team?
How is he less respected? If someone accused you of taking drugs and your career depended on it and you hadn’t wouldn’t you appeal the process? It doesn’t prove that he took drugs anymore than the Casey Anthony trial proved she in fact killed her daughter…I think he is still respected for standing up for what he believes is right, whether or not he took a drug. Its not our job to decide whether he is guilty or not.
I’m sure he would have been more respected had he challenged the -results- of the test. He did not. He chose to challenge on a technicality instead.
It was the easiest way to get off, yes, but it looks fishy.
Of course, to use inferences from your own statement, I’m sure Braun is every bit as respected (and trusted) as Casey Anthony.
He just manipulated the system with the lawyers (for many people this could remind them of some famous legal case of the 90s). He’s definitely a cheater in my book and just because of technicality in sending the sample doesn’t mean it didn’t test positive.
what if the technicality is the reason it was a false positive? Which is exactly his point!
His challenge never stated it was a false positive. He did not challenge the results at all.
but here’s why I don’t buy in to that..
from day one he maintained his innocence.. there is no way he could have known or predicted he would be able to find a break in procedure leading to an acquittal..
maybe I want to believe him for the good of the game more than I should, which is clouding my judgment, but I don’t consider him a cheater
…and Roger Clemens still claims innocence. Or Rafael Palmeiro telling Congress, “Let me start by telling you this: I have never used steroids, period. I don’t know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never.” I think it’s just a typical public relations move to try to save any shred of reputation.
I just tend to go with the common sense theory, rather than the conspiracy theories. He failed a drug test. I don’t believe that keeping a urine sample in a refrigerator for 48 hours will create synthetic testosterone. I don’t believe the test collector had money on the Cardinals and tampered with the sample. He found a loop hole and got away with it.
oh don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe innocence because he claimed innocence..
but I mean, he could have come clean or made suspect comments about his cousin injecting him with something he didn’t know or taking a medicine and not realizing it had an agent in it.. So many scenarios..
but he remained confident in his innocent even after the failed drug test, that says something to me..
It says to me that their intent all along was to challenge not the validity of the test, but the procedure of it. There wasn’t anything significantly wrong with the procedure but being able to choke that one to death with a technicality is way easier than explaining how you could have failed the test in the first place with something that produces a false positive.
He took a gamble with the appeal because he had no other choice and he found a loophole that two arbitrators of the three, not unanimous, thought he was right. He tested positive but got lucky to not serve the suspension. Still a cheater.
All we know is what little information has been leaked. You have no idea what all has actually happened. And yet you have already declared him a cheater?
Are all of the decisions you make blurted out quickly and with limited information?
Sources have told Carroll that the defense showed that the circumstances which led to the positive drug test was able to be repeated using the errors of the handler, which he explained on WEEI.
In shorter bursts, he explained it on Twitter as well (1/2/3/4/5)
Quit calling Braun decision a technicality, media. It was decided on science.
Repeatable result showed exactly how Braun’s single test showed positive. Arbitrator agreed. Simple, isn’t it?
Know what makes a good soundbite? “44 hours” and “FedEx”. Know what doesn’t? Technical details about urine flora.
Joe Sheehan: So the delay in processing the urine was repeated, and shown to be the cause of the high levels of T?
Will Carroll: More or less. It deserves an answer longer than 140.
JGERRITWULTERKENS: confused; so the sheer act of leaving out a sample in the wrong environment by itself raises the testosterone ratio by >3x?
Will Carroll: To vastly oversimplify, yes.
JGERRITWULTERKENS: Fair enough except if that’s a widely known, medically accepted fact you’d think MLB/testers would have been cognizant, no?
Will Carroll: Tester made a mistake. Its not usually an issue.
Do yourself a favor and read the article that he posted up on Amazon. Not only is it great work, but it benefits The Jimmy Fund.
So you think he coudn’t have taken something to mask it after the first test to get a favorable result on the second one? The levels measured in the first test are said to be so high that it could be tough to make it a false positive. Then do you think someone has it againts him? I think before this he had to be one of the most liked players in baseball. Not anymore.
Because they probably test for agents that are designed to clear the system if the system is as comprehensive as it is, then they have the monetary means, and desire to check for agents that are designed to flush the system, they only work if you are getting tested by a company that is doing a basic drug test, and isn’t investing in, or, have the ability to test for those chemicals.
Oh come on they are tested by the same company that test the Olympic athletes, I’m pretty sure they can check for agents that are designed to flush the system, and this is no basic drug test.
Thank you that’s my point. I was saying that if he tried to mask what he did it would’ve been caught. I was replying to someone saying his second test came up clean, and so saying its because he id something to hide the evidence is not right or fair.
False. They test for masking agents. A positive test for a masking agent is the same as a positive test for a PED. Get your facts straight.
And you think the latest in masking agents are already being tested by them? Also, look into the timeline, maybe by the time he got the second test he had cleared his system. The second test is probably not necessary until a positive result comes back.
Ryan Braun haters in the house!!!
Agreed, how dare people hate drug cheats?
he didn’t get suspsended, move on now people.
I guess it’s easier for some people to assume he’s guilty based on a potentially tainted sample instead of waiting for actual evidence.
But it wasn’t tainted… The sample showed no signs of tampering… The collector had it on his desk or in his fridge for a period of time because Fed ex was closed or something… It was a stupid technicality that the 2 out of 3 arbitrators said he should get off… It was never proven that the sample was tampered with, just the time frame that could have allowed for it. Now Braun’s not only a cheater, he’s now a liar.
Ah, the airtight “or something” argument.
That’s a fact, they didn’t argue the test results themselves.. They only argued the timeline from collection to delivery. 1 arbitrator voted against the appeal knowing full well that it was the same standard that the doping agency for the olympics uses… So I stand by my original reply.
Guess what… They never proved the sample WASN’T tampered with. The fact that it went missing for 44 hours is a HUGE kink in the testing process, that is not a ‘stupid technicality’. You have no idea what the guy with the sample did for those 44 hours.
It didn’t have any bearing on the appeal… The appeal was to the timeline from collection to testing… Now if it was tampered with or not… Which the drug testing company & the collector said it wasn’t… If it was, then criminal charges would have been filed against the tamperer… So I stand by my original reply. He got off because of a dumb loop hole which no olympian would have gotten off on…
I base it on the fact that he failed a drug test.
Innocent until proven guilty. He wasn’t proven guilty, therefor he’s innocent. Time to move on.
He was proven to do it. The suspension decision was overturned. He still failed a test.
I didn’t know we were in a court of law where that is the standard, it sure isn’t anywhere else.
This is OJ Simpson all over again.
Before anyone else says it “The juice is loose”.
Does anyone really care what Shi Davidi thinks? I really couldn’t care less about the Braun situation. As sad as it is, the whole PED/ postive test/ etc, etc. thing is blasé at this point.
Does anyone really care what , but let me go ahead and tell you what I think.
You do realize that is what these pages are for, right? Or is it only opinions that you feel are relevant should be posted?
that’s exactly what these pages are for.
I’m just not sure why you feel the need to start a post by saying does anyone care what shi davidi thinks? It serves no purpose, of course people care what he thinks or else he wouldn’t be in the position he is in
I don’t really care about your comment, but I felt it was important to let you know that. Thanks.
Good job Bud, another failure by your regime. Your guys botched the testing and created the reasonable doubt and to be honest now we will never know. Thanks!
I still can’t believe that people are operating under the pretense that he’s guilty until proven innocent. It’s absurd to just stick to the norm and say, “He tested positive, therefore he’s a cheater.” There are a trillion and a half substances that the MLB has banned, almost all of which can be found in your local GNC. To say that because he’s a professional athlete, he should know every single substance is absurd. The list is nineteen miles long. To say with absolute certainty that every MLB player knows every substance is laughable.
And what’s even more amazing is that people are still calling the dude a cheater when it’s not even known if steroids even provide a tangible effect on a baseball player’s statistical performance. To call him a cheater is to call Hank Aaron a cheater as well, for taking a pep pill, which is technically a performance enhancer. Would you say that to HIS face? Doubtful.
Give it up. Braun is one of the most talented players in baseball, with or without elevated levels of testosterone. Fact. He beat the system. Fact. Leave it alone, and it’ll all go away in time.
Of COURSE steroids provide a tangible effect on a baseball player’s performance. That part of what you wrote is simply naive. If they didn’t help, players wouldn’t take them; that’s a pretty simple notion. Do you still have to have hand-eye coordination and all the other skills to hit a baseball, let’s say? Of course. It’s not like any muscle-bound freak can take roids and then get into a batter’s box and hit great. But, let’s say you’re a hitter with decent strength and an average hitter with average power. If you are on roids or PED’s, you get stronger. If you get stronger, you can swing a baseball bat with more bat speed, thereby creating more force on the ball when you hit it. Furthermore, if your bat speed is faster, that allows you to watch the pitch for even a millisecond longer, which is an advantage. This isn’t rocket science.
If it provides a tangible effect, please, let’s hear it. Because nobody else can seem to pinpoint why steroids prolonged the career of Barry Bonds, and yet didn’t do a single thing for Jamal Strong, the fourth player to be suspended for being caught.
And to Todd: Cocaine is a banned substance. Does that make a cocaine user a cheater? Get your head out of the clouds man.
Taking a banned substance = cheating. Not sure why that’s such a difficult concept to understand.
Comment removed.
Given the wonky results, the poor handling of the sample, the fact he has passed 20+ previous tests and the fact he tested positive during the ONLY time of the year that players are 100% sure they will be tested, I find it hard to believe that the sample was not tainted in some way.
Rafael Palmeiro tested clean on every test up until his failed test. And he passed the test directly after his failed test. Do you believe his failed test was tainted as well?
How many tests has Manny Ramirez passed in his career? Hundreds? If he only failed two of them, does that mean those two must be tainted?
Just because someone tested positive at 1 point in their career doesn’t mean they we’re always doping.
Manny could have turned to it to combat age, it doesn’t necessarily mean this is the time they finally got him .
Nor does testing positive only once make you completely innocent, as some here seem to want to believe.
Braun tested positive after the first game of the first playoff series. Can we think of any reason why he might have been looking for an extra boost at that specific time?
The only test he ever tested positive in was 3 times higher then anyone elses test in history, and it just so happened during that test , his sample was mishandled… that doesn’t strike you as odd?
He tested positive for synthetic testosterone. No matter how long you let a cup of pee sit on a shelf, it’s never going to self-manufacture a synthetic substance. That doesn’t strike you as odd?
unless it was tampered with of course.
…because it’s much more common for lab officials to spike urine samples than it is for athletes to take illegal substances.
whats common doesn’t really apply in a court setting..
its whats reasonable.
Why exaggerate, it was not 3 times higher than any other test taken.
But what ever happened to his immediate excuse that he failed due to his Herpes medication? Bottom line, he failed a drug test and went with the most pathetic excuse humanly possible, that it wasn’t him, it was someone else.
Every athlete that has failed a drug test has proclaimed their innocence, why should Braun be any different? At the end of the day he still failed the test.
Good article for all you non believers:
chadmoriyama.com/2012/02/ryan-braun-what-you-dont-…
I believe he cheated and used drugs to enhance his performance, so I’m no non believer.
Quick to judge but un-willing to read all the ifo available?
An examination of Braun’s performance history will substantiate that this player is and has been a model of consistency throughout his entire career, including the time he spent playing minor league ball. There is nothing to suggest that he has ingested or injected performance enhancing drugs like some of our more noteworthy abusers in years recently past. His statistics contravene this possibility. Unfortunately, the MLB’s drug police appear to have reached the point in there existence where they feel they “have to” find a name abuser to justify their existence. Too bad, as this was not what their original purpose was supposed to be. I am not a Brewer’s fan, but am happy for that team and their fans, because they got their best player back, unscathed, and unpenalized.
baseball-reference.com/players/b/braunry02-
Unpenalized? Absolutely. Unscathed? Not so much.
Other than the fact that he failed his drug test that is……
You can’t fail a drug test with an invalid sample.
Yeah, and OJ Simpson couldn’t possible have killed anyone because the glove didn’t fit. Good luck with that one.
Ya thats makes sense. A Glove not fitting and someones urine sample being mishandled. Very comparable…
How about both getting off based on a technicality even though the evidence says clearly that they are guilty. You will need your head buried pretty deep to convince yourself that he isn’t in the Bonds club.
All you do is completely ignore facts and spew BS. “the defense showed that the circumstances which led to the positive drug
test was able to be repeated using the errors of the handler”.
The fact is that he failed a drug test and got off because someone didn’t drop it off at the 24 hr FedEx.
Getting off on a technicality does not change the fact that he failed his drug test.
do you know how many innocent people go to jail because of supposed evidence? the process isn’t perfect and that was shown with the appeal. and what about the elephant in the room, you known the fact that his sample was the highest ever tested? Does that not maybe ring a few alarm bells?
What does that have to do with this?
They did? When did you get your hands on the transcript. Please share it with us.
Yeah, and OJ Simpson couldn’t possible have killed anyone because the glove didn’t fit. Good luck with that one.
Some people may choose to turn a blind eye to this, but Braun will never live down the facts and the facts say that he is a PED user no matter if he found a way out or not.
He will forever be known as a PED using Herpes carrier and no technicalities will get him out of that.
This opinion will of course be held by people like yourself who refuse to believe all the facts in the case and will never believe anything that comes out challenging said opinion.
Yeah, I refuse to ignore the fact that he failed his drug test, how narrow minded of me.
Willie Mays used to shoot up with “red juice” (liquid amphetamine) before games… did he never live it down? Will he forever be known as a PED user?
People will forget, it just takes a while.