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Let me be clear by stating that
Alex Rodriguez has
never said anything about
Ryan Braun’s failed drug test having to do with him taking medicine for herpes.
Of course A-rod wouldn’t because he knows better, as Derek Jeter would have failed way before Braun… right?
Kidding again. But now to the point, as this Braun saga is getting annoying but I wanted to weigh in my opinion.
So, there are three things that bothered me after I heard that Braun’s 50-game suspension got overturned last Thursday.
Quick Summary of the Braun Saga (for the readers who live in a cave):
Last Thursday the news broke that Milwaukee Brewers Ryan Braun had beat the system.
Braun’s urine tested positive for a banned substance last October, but he will not serve one day of the standard 50-game suspension given to first time offenders.
It marks the first time an arbitrator has ever reversed a player’s appeal of the embargo set by MLB for a drug testing violation.
Braun’s legal eagles had the 50-game suspension overturned due to a loophole found in MLB’s Drug Treatment and Prevention Program Policies.
His lawyers made the case that the samples were wrongly handled by the authorized CDT Sports Collector, aka the test’s collector, which insinuates that there was possible tampering.
In the MLB Collection Procedures and Testing Protocols, the policy states that the sample is supposed to get to FedEx as soon as possible. Read policy HERE, page 18.
In Braun’s case the collector said that FedEx was already closed so he kept the sample in his fridge overnight and sent it out when FedEx reopened.
And that is the grey area that has won Braun his freedom from suspension, but what about his test results?
1) Braun you talk too much:
Braun finally addressed the matter for the first time last Friday, which was one-day post-verdict, at the Brewers Spring Training facility in Arizona.
To me Braun’s words sounded scripted and angry. He went on and on as if he was persecuted and unjustly framed due to a “fatally flawed” testing system.
He disclosed that the test’s collector did not follow the guidelines set under MLB’s Collection Procedure; there was no mention to whether Braun did or didn’t juice, or if the test was tampered with. He beat the system, but why does this seem to only happen in MLB?
The long-winded explanation triggered that feeling when you know someone is lying because they’re talking too much about why it is not their fault and in the end they come-off looking guiltier.
2) So ultimately Braun’s defensive team won citing incorrect protocol but what about his test results changed?
The answer is nothing.
Maybe you will find comfort in knowing that MLB Commissioner’s Office ‘vehemently disagrees’ by the outcome, but personally I find that a little hard to believe. Continue reading ‘Maybe New York Yankees Alex Rodriquez respects Ryan Braun herpes’ »
