Ryan Braun wins the appeal
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun has won his appeal to overturn a positive drug test.
Braun became the first major-league player to have a positive drug test overturned when he was informed Thursday that an arbitration panel ruled in his favor on appeal and decided against a 50-game suspension for the reigning National League most valuable player.
This is obviously huge news for the Brewers, who were potentially facing starting a season without both Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. Now, the reigning MVP will be available from day one, meaning their offense will be far less punchless.
Details on why Braun is now also an MVP of drug test appeals were not released. The independent three-person arbitration panel’s decision was a 2-1 call. And MLB isn’t happy about the decision.
“Major League Baseball considers the obligations of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program essential to the integrity of our game, our Clubs and all of the players who take the field. It has always been Major League Baseball’s position that no matter who tests positive, we will exhaust all avenues in pursuit of the appropriate discipline. We have been true to that position in every instance, because baseball fans deserve nothing less.
“As a part of our drug testing program, the Commissioner’s Office and the Players Association agreed to a neutral third party review for instances that are under dispute. While we have always respected that process, Major League Baseball vehemently disagrees with the decision rendered today by arbitrator Shyam Das.”
I’m sure we’ll be hearing plenty about this for the next few days, especially tomorrow from Braun himself when he reports to Brewers’ camp.
The bottom line, though, is Braun backed up what he said when the false positive was announced, “I am completely innocent. This is B.S.”
It is a shame Major League Baseball has been infiltrated with drug use. These guys ruin the game and the history of the game when they use performance enhancement substances. Don’t cheat, play the game as it should be played…
That’s easier said than done when millions of dollars are up for grabs. Hopefully, the holes identified in the testing process identified by Braun winning his appeal will spur MLB to plug them. Overall, since they decided it was a problem they could no longer ignore, they’ve done a good job cleaning up the game.