Milwaukee Brewers star Ryan Braun has admitted to consulting with PED clinic founder, Anthony Boosch. Braun admits to having a business relationship with Bosch, claiming to have only consulted with the Miami clinic in order to strengthen his appeal of a 2011 positive test of performance enhancing drugs. Braun tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone in 2011, the same year he was named National League MVP.
"During the course of preparing for my successful appeal last year, my attorneys, who were previously familiar with Tony Bosch, used him as a constant. More specifically, he answered questions about T/E ratio and possibilities of tampering with samples," Braun said in a released statement.
Braun appealed the results of the test and avoided a pending suspension when an arbitration panel upheld the appeal, ruling there were questions of how Braun's samples were handled. Braun denied using PEDs throughout the appeal process last winter and is continuing to stress that he did nothing wrong and has nothing to hide.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Braun's name was not listed next to any specific PEDs, but he was on a list that included Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera, Francisco Cervelli, Danny Valencia and Cesar Carrillo. His name appeared above a line reading, "RB 20-30K." According to Bosch, this is the amount of money owned to him by the players. Braun insists that 'money owned' simply means compensation for his consultation during the appeal process.
"There was a dispute over compensation for Bosch's work, which is why my lawyer and I are listed under 'moneys owed' and not on any other list. I have nothing to hide and have never had any other relationship with Bosch," Braun said.
In 2012, Braun lead the NL in homers, runs and slugging percentage, while batting .319 with 112 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. He finished second to San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey in MVP votes.
Braun says he intends on fully cooperating with any inquiry to his relationship with Bosch and the PED clinic. The investigation is currently ongoing. Major League Baseball is seeking records on distributed banned substances and are aware of all reports related to the issue.
