The Ryan Braun saga took another shocking turn on Monday, as the Milwaukee Brewers star was suspended for 65 games and the rest of the season after coming to an agreement with the MLB after his involvement and connection with the Biogenesis clinic.
Braun previously was suspended 50 games for a positive test and later won an appeal on a technicality and now that looks like clearly a bad move, as he now has admitted to "mistakes" as the first former MVP to get suspended for steroids use. The MLB has been applauded and criticized for the way they handled the suspension, including many who feel that commending Braun for doing so was wrong. Others have said that those quotes likely were part of the plea deal, but either way, the Brewers now have a franchise player that will be dogged about steroids for the rest of his career.
Many other players were linked to the scandal and Braun was the first to get pinched and now he will be the poster boy for the Biogenesis clinic and what can happen to those other names like Nelson Cruz and Alex Rodriguez. Braun was suspended for violating the Basic Agreement and he did not get suspended for failing a test, as he did last year. Braun was MVP in 2011 and helped the Brewers get to the NL Championship series and now all that will be called into question as he tries to continue his career.
Here is a link to the exclusive interview with Deadspin with MLB and MLPA officials.
Here are some quotes from the interview courtesy of Deadspin:
Deadspin: After studying the press release and various media accounts, we're still a bit confused by the Braun situation.
The release indicated that Braun was suspended in part for violations of the Basic Agreement. That's different from the usual drug suspension release, which just cites the testing and treatment agreement. We were wondering which specific provision he violated.
MLBPA:
MLB, via a spokesman: I can't go into specifics beyond what yesterday's release said on the violations of the collective bargaining agreement and the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Do you need a copy of our Joint Drug Program?
