Ryan Braun has won his appeal of a 50-game suspension for testing positive for elevated levels of synthetic testosterone. He is the first player to ever successfully appeal a drug related suspension.The arbitration panel ruled that policy was not followed in the collection of the sample. The collector admitted he took the urine sample home with him rather than ship it via FedEx to the testing lab in accordance with MLB policy.
While the elevated levels would point to Braun being guilty, I have to agree with this decision. There are a lot of steps in place to ensure there is no "foul play" in the drug testing program. Who knows what this collector did with the sample that night. Maybe he was a Cardinals fan with an axe to grind.
Brewers fans and supporters of Ryan Braun are now claiming he is completely innocent. How can we ever truly know? Maybe he just got completely lucky on a technicality. Criminals go free because police crime labs don't cross their T's and dot their I's. Murderers walk out of holding cells because cops don't wait for search warrants.
It certainly appears as though Braun dodged a huge bullet. Testosterone levels as high as what Braun tested for can only come from a synthetic source. There's no mistaking the fact that there was something in that sample, but again, there's no way to be sure the sample wasn't tampered with.
It remains to be seen what the damage to Braun's reputation will be as a result of this. Many opposing fans are sure to give Braun a bunch of crap when he visits their stadium. People will view his MVP season as tainted.
For the record, Braun did pass the second test immediately once it was discovered protocol was not followed. He has also passed every other test given in his career, including the minor leagues. That doesn't change the fact that we'll never know for sure.
The drug policy failed today. Plain and simple.
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