Ryan Braun: One Press Conference Too Many

The number one thing I’ve learned about the Milwaukee Brewers Ryan Braun in the past few days is that he is an idiot. When Braun, the 2007 NL Rookie of the Year and 2011 NL MVP, had his 50-game suspension for elevated testosterone levels overturned last week he should’ve celebrated his victory privately, released a statement through his legal team, and then attempted to assimilate himself into the Brewers spring training as quietly as possible. Instead he called a press conference and went on a 5-minute rant, basically, where he called the MLB drug testing system ‘completely flawed’ and said that he had been ‘a victim of a failed process’. He also went out on a limb and throw it out there that his sample was tampered with that’s why the testosterone levels were in rarified air. One problem Ryan: your defense team never argued that your samples had been tampered with they only argued that the chain of custody had been too slow getting the samples to the lab in Montreal.

In fact Braun’s defense team during the hearing with the arbitration panel had accepted the presence of synthetic testosterone and knew that their best shot was to attack the procedure followed by collector Dino Laurenzi, Jr. Now we haven’t seen the deciding arbitrator’s, Shayum Das, reasoning for why he sided with the Braun camp but it makes sense that he did so based on the fact that it’s spelled out in the MLB Drug Testing Policy that samples need to be sent out that day unless there are unusual circumstances. Once collected by Laurenzi it was after 5:00 pm on a Saturday in Milwaukee and we’ve all been there before there isn’t a post office in the world that ships that late on a Saturday or ever on a Sunday thus he was forced to hold onto the sample until he could ship it out on Monday, which he did. Braun’s team argued, successfully, that that 44-hour window between when the urine sample was collected and when it was shipped out by FedEx was too long a window but they never once argued that the seals were broken on the sample. Nice job Braun you just left your ass out in the wind by calling out the process and calling it flawed for producing a ‘false positive’ when your own defense team knew that that wasn’t true.

Throughout his press conference Braun also alluded multiple times to the idea that his sample had been tampered with by the collector. The best part about that is that Braun himself signed documentation stating that the sample had been sealed properly IN FRONT OF HIM and the lab in Montreal said that the samples they received were undisturbed. Even if Laurenzi, Jr. wanted to try and frame Braun he would have to take a completely wild guess at which sample was his because there are no names on the samples just random numbers. Laurenzi, Jr. has no idea what number sample belongs to which player. That means that Braun is suggesting that Laurenzi, Jr. made a phenomenal guess grabbed his exact sample broke the seal injected mass quantities of testosterone and then was able to, in a surgical manner, reseal all packaging to its original state fooling even the most trained eye. Sure why not, right Ryan?

Let’s take a quick look at the credentials of the collector who Braun decided to come after in a passive aggressive manner to see if you think he’s a credible collector or not. Dino Laurenzi, Jr. has been collecting samples for Comprehensive Drug Testing since 2005, has performed over 600 collections for the MLB and other professional sports leagues, and holds a master’s in medical/athletic training from UNC-Chapel Hill. Sounds like a pretty stand up dude to me who’s never once been called into question for his credibility but again you’re right Ryan he chose YOU to screw over. I’ll say it again, Braun should’ve released a statement through his defense team, shut his mouth, and tried to return to whatever level of normalcy possible. 

When news first broke about Braun testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone I wanted to believe that he truly was innocent but after taking in all the information out there and knowing the culture of major league baseball I couldn’t believe that the drug test policy the MLB had fought so hard to implement would make its first mistake and the only one to date after thousands of collections with such a high profile player like Braun. After hearing Braun’s speech on February 24^th I realized that he wasn’t indeed innocent and he made himself look all the more guilty by standing up there and talking nonsense without looking at the facts himself. He made claims and said things about people with no factual backing, all things that tend to be done by someone who is in fact guilty and wants so badly to try and get people to believe he’s innocent that he overcompensates. Another huge piece of the puzzle to remember is that MLB doesn’t want Ryan Braun to test positive for PED’s because it sends them back to a dark place they just seemed to finally emerge from. They implemented this new drug testing and it was agreed upon by the MLBPA because both organizations wanted to prove to their fans once and for all that the game they loved was in fact clean and free of cheaters. Instead, one of the games biggest stars got caught cheating and was exonerated on a mere technicality.

Yes, Ryan Braun had his 50-game suspension lifted and he’ll be able to participate fully in the Milwaukee Brewers 2012 season, which is great news for them but in my mind and in many fans minds the truth remains that he was in fact busted for having elevated levels of testosterone. I hope that the MLB tests him daily and that he passes every single one of them and is able to maintain his position in the upper echelon of the MLB’s elite. If you read this article by Buster Olney you’ll see how many current MLB players feel about the situation and how they are outraged and know full well that Braun wasn’t innocent he got lucky a single arbitrator decided to rule in his favor based on a misstep in the chain of custody not a tampered sample. And you know what that’s exactly how I feel right now, betrayed by someone I affectionately called ‘The Hebrew Hammer’. Ryan Braun you’re an idiot for not only holding a press conference and throwing around multiple false accusations and claims that most likely will get you sued for slander by Dino Laurenzi, Jr. but for ever thinking you could get away with taking PED’s and when you got caught attempting to lie your way out of it. You let down not only the fans but your MLB brethren.

There you have it folks my take on the Ryan Braun verdict and subsequent press conference. I think I’ve made it quite clear how I feel the real question is how do you feel? Let us know! Until we cross paths again…

Geoff Jablonski