I'm curious... what's your spin on
this?
Jeremiah Alley:
Unfortunately, MLB will have to absorb the criticism of being careless due to the mistake of one person. I hope that the tremendous strides baseball has taken towards strict drug testing policies does not go completely ignored by members of the media, although I am sure now those successes will be easier to look past.
One can only sit and wonder how someone like Jose Bautista feels. Bautista has been tested vigorously by baseball and accused by many of his success being a product of some artificial enhancer. However, he has passed these tests each and every time. Braun, on the other hand, fails a drug test, but walks away unscathed due to a frivolous technicality. How will Braun's peers view him now, knowing that they legitimately pass their tests when administered, yet he fails and gets away with it? Does this ultimately affect the credibility of MLB's testing program in the eyes of the players? Does this incident with Braun suggest that MLB's testing program is corruptible? These are all valid questions.
The thing I struggle with most is not MLB's mistake, nor am I most disappointed with the man that was in charge of getting the urine sample to Fedex in a timely fashion. I am most troubled by the repeated failures of the American justice system to do what it ultimately right. In this instance it is the failing of baseball arbitrator Shyam Das to come to the realization that not getting the urine sample to Fedex when specified is hardly cause for a successful appeal. What sort of precedent does his ruling send? Not a good one, of course. Again, as stated previously, this ruling leaves open the possibility of the testing program becoming corrupt. What will stop a player that has failed their test from paying someone off to botch the test? After all, if you cannot get to Fedex on time that will roughly equate to not ever having failed your test. You may continue to play like nothing ever happened.
Oh, by the way, let us not forget that what Braun did was criminal, which is something that most people tend to take for granted. Steroids and synthetic testosterone are illegal to possess without authorization. As an example, if you are caught with prescription meds in this country, but you do not have a prescription, that is a federal offense that often comes with mandatory jail time. Maybe in Braun's case it may be difficult to prove that he ever possessed illegal steroids and synthetic testosterone, but it would be nice to see the criminal justice system open an investigation into his usage of performance enhancing drugs and where they came from.
Mike Friere:
Well, there were obvious problems with the way the sample was handled after it was collected and given to the delivery driver. So yeah, I understand the concerns that the arbiter had and perhaps why it was overturned. But, that still doesn't explain why the sample tested positive. Was the delay in delivering the sample the reason? I don't see how and from all I have heard, the laboratory that tested the sample didn't complain about the integrity seal being broken, etc.
Innocent on a technicality isn't the same thing as completely innocent. His suspension was overturned, but you have to wonder if the fans of baseball (outside of Milwaukee) will be as forgiving.
Jack Flynn:
First things first: I have no problem with the idea of professional athletes taking steroids or increasing testosterone levels under a doctor's care. In fact, I would encourage Major League Baseball and all other professional sports leagues to consider putting an end to punishing performance-enhancing athletes and begin initiating programs to allow athletes to safely and appropriately use performance enhancers for increased strength and conditioning.
As for Ryan Braun's situation: the revelation that Braun's urine sample was so carelessly treated before the testing process began should be of great concern to MLB. I have no idea if the mishandling of Braun's sample could have brought about a false positive, but the amateurish process of finally getting the sample to the lab makes MLB look very bad.
The fact that Braun's positive test even hit the media long before the appeal process ever began reveals a shameful inability on MLB's part to protect patient confidentiality in regard to health issues. Braun's health information - including the results of a urine test - should be of no business to the general public until after all avenues of appeal are exhausted. Only then, when tests have been checked and re-checked and the process of determining if the sample was positive was properly carried out, should MLB be allowing for the release of such information.
Forget about whether or not Ryan Braun is on steroids. As baseball fans and as Americans, we should be outraged that MLB could not (or, perhaps more sinisterly, chose not to) protect a player's health records in the manner afforded to every other citizen in this country. The rush to judgment is only a by-product of that basic failure.
Teddy Dziuba:
Unfortunately, MLB will have to absorb the criticism of being careless due to the mistake of one person. I hope that the tremendous strides baseball has taken towards strict drug testing policies does not go completely ignored by members of the media, although I am sure now those successes will be easier to look past.
One can only sit and wonder how someone like Jose Bautista feels. Bautista has been tested vigorously by baseball and accused by many of his success being a product of some artificial enhancer. However, he has passed these tests each and every time. Braun, on the other hand, fails a drug test, but walks away unscathed due to a frivolous technicality. How will Braun's peers view him now, knowing that they legitimately pass their tests when administered, yet he fails and gets away with it? Does this ultimately affect the credibility of MLB's testing program in the eyes of the players? Does this incident with Braun suggest that MLB's testing program is corruptible? These are all valid questions.
The thing I struggle with most is not MLB's mistake, nor am I most disappointed with the man that was in charge of getting the urine sample to Fedex in a timely fashion. I am most troubled by the repeated failures of the American justice system to do what it ultimately right. In this instance it is the failing of baseball arbitrator Shyam Das to come to the realization that not getting the urine sample to Fedex when specified is hardly cause for a successful appeal. What sort of precedent does his ruling send? Not a good one, of course. Again, as stated previously, this ruling leaves open the possibility of the testing program becoming corrupt. What will stop a player that has failed their test from paying someone off to botch the test? After all, if you cannot get to Fedex on time that will roughly equate to not ever having failed your test. You may continue to play like nothing ever happened.
Oh, by the way, let us not forget that what Braun did was criminal, which is something that most people tend to take for granted. Steroids and synthetic testosterone are illegal to possess without authorization. As an example, if you are caught with prescription meds in this country, but you do not have a prescription, that is a federal offense that often comes with mandatory jail time. Maybe in Braun's case it may be difficult to prove that he ever possessed illegal steroids and synthetic testosterone, but it would be nice to see the criminal justice system open an investigation into his usage of performance enhancing drugs and where they came from.
Mike Friere:
Well, there were obvious problems with the way the sample was handled after it was collected and given to the delivery driver. So yeah, I understand the concerns that the arbiter had and perhaps why it was overturned. But, that still doesn't explain why the sample tested positive. Was the delay in delivering the sample the reason? I don't see how and from all I have heard, the laboratory that tested the sample didn't complain about the integrity seal being broken, etc.
Innocent on a technicality isn't the same thing as completely innocent. His suspension was overturned, but you have to wonder if the fans of baseball (outside of Milwaukee) will be as forgiving.
Jack Flynn:
First things first: I have no problem with the idea of professional athletes taking steroids or increasing testosterone levels under a doctor's care. In fact, I would encourage Major League Baseball and all other professional sports leagues to consider putting an end to punishing performance-enhancing athletes and begin initiating programs to allow athletes to safely and appropriately use performance enhancers for increased strength and conditioning.
As for Ryan Braun's situation: the revelation that Braun's urine sample was so carelessly treated before the testing process began should be of great concern to MLB. I have no idea if the mishandling of Braun's sample could have brought about a false positive, but the amateurish process of finally getting the sample to the lab makes MLB look very bad.
The fact that Braun's positive test even hit the media long before the appeal process ever began reveals a shameful inability on MLB's part to protect patient confidentiality in regard to health issues. Braun's health information - including the results of a urine test - should be of no business to the general public until after all avenues of appeal are exhausted. Only then, when tests have been checked and re-checked and the process of determining if the sample was positive was properly carried out, should MLB be allowing for the release of such information.
Forget about whether or not Ryan Braun is on steroids. As baseball fans and as Americans, we should be outraged that MLB could not (or, perhaps more sinisterly, chose not to) protect a player's health records in the manner afforded to every other citizen in this country. The rush to judgment is only a by-product of that basic failure.
Teddy Dziuba:
Braun was likely on fast acting testosterone (like Deadspin
covered here: http://deadspin.com/5869473/victor-conte-says-ryan-brauns-test-result-is-exactly-what-youd-expect-from-fast+acting-testosterone-not-anabolic-steroids
) and got bagged, plain and simple. A
chain of custody dispute on his urine sample doesn't mean the test results were
any less conclusive.
PED's should not be a hot button issue, without exhausting
too many words on the topic, it has been a part of the game for a lot longer
than 1998. Mays and Stargell did
greenies, that’s a fact. Keith Hernandez
did blow, that's a fact. Those three
have incredibly loyal fan bases to this day.
But if the media continues to portray steroids as the ruin
of baseball, then Braun is most definitely NOT off the hook. 50 game suspension or not, people will still
want his MVP taken away and in 20 years they'll still be talking about this
when his name pops up on the hall of fame ballot, and that’s absurd.
Frank Gray:
This whole situation makes me sad. Here's an example of a player that seems to have done it the right way and be the type of player that baseball wants as its ambassador to the next generation. Then, he gets bagged with this incident. Now, he beats the system on a technicality. That sends the wrong message to other players and fans.
He will never be removed from suspicion. If he never touches any form of enhancing drug again, the entire league will still wonder with every homerun and every big hit if it was due to a drug. Suppose he is clean for another 10 years and hits over 500 home runs, maybe wins another MVP and possibly a World Series?
He would never be voted into the Hall of Fame despite his assumed cleanliness due to this one incident. It will hang over him for the remainder of his life.
Jarod Alley:
I am pretty much in the same boat as everyone else. This is a terrible ending to an awful situation for the fans, league and Braun himself. A 3 person panel?!....Seriously?! He should be judged by a jury of his peers. But I digress...This is bad and listening to Braun being interviewed is even worse. He is claiming he knew the truth the whole time and it would clear his name. How is being let off on a technicality clearing your name? Seriously, his test came back positive in October! Which means he very well could have tested positive in the playoffs or very close to it. It's this point I think a lot of people are forgetting in all this. This "poster boy" for the new league was caught in the new "cardinal sin" of baseball during its Holy Month. Maybe if his team made it past the NLDS there might be more of an outcry here but nonetheless he needs to be thrown under a bus, backed over and tossed next to the trash so everyone can see what waits for players willing to cheat. Below are his numbers in the postseason last year when all this came about...
David Rubin:
This whole situation makes me sad. Here's an example of a player that seems to have done it the right way and be the type of player that baseball wants as its ambassador to the next generation. Then, he gets bagged with this incident. Now, he beats the system on a technicality. That sends the wrong message to other players and fans.
He will never be removed from suspicion. If he never touches any form of enhancing drug again, the entire league will still wonder with every homerun and every big hit if it was due to a drug. Suppose he is clean for another 10 years and hits over 500 home runs, maybe wins another MVP and possibly a World Series?
He would never be voted into the Hall of Fame despite his assumed cleanliness due to this one incident. It will hang over him for the remainder of his life.
Jarod Alley:
I am pretty much in the same boat as everyone else. This is a terrible ending to an awful situation for the fans, league and Braun himself. A 3 person panel?!....Seriously?! He should be judged by a jury of his peers. But I digress...This is bad and listening to Braun being interviewed is even worse. He is claiming he knew the truth the whole time and it would clear his name. How is being let off on a technicality clearing your name? Seriously, his test came back positive in October! Which means he very well could have tested positive in the playoffs or very close to it. It's this point I think a lot of people are forgetting in all this. This "poster boy" for the new league was caught in the new "cardinal sin" of baseball during its Holy Month. Maybe if his team made it past the NLDS there might be more of an outcry here but nonetheless he needs to be thrown under a bus, backed over and tossed next to the trash so everyone can see what waits for players willing to cheat. Below are his numbers in the postseason last year when all this came about...
David Rubin:
I live in Braun's hometown, and he is still revered here. I've
followed him since he began his MLB career, and truly enjoy watching him as a
player as he struck me as a "throwback" in the way he plays the game
and interacts (positively) with his fans. I was really sad when the news came
out; however, as much as I wished it never happened, this isn't exactly the
outcome I was wishing for. He's been acquitted by an arbitrator, but he's
certainly not exonerated; therefore, there will always be a cloud of suspicion
hanging over his head, and we'll never know if he actually did what he was
accused of or not...
Furthermore, if I'm a fellow player, I'm outraged because of
the ability to question the process of testing, which is where most of the
protest came from via the player's union prior to having the testing ratified. It's
a black eye that, rather than healing permanently, will continue to scar the
landscape of MLB's drug-testing record forever...
