Doping & Drugs ·
Ryan Braun accepts season-ending MLB suspension
The July 2013 penalty emerged from the Biogenesis investigation, though MLB did not specify the violations or name the clinic in its announcement.
On July 22, 2013, Ryan Braun accepted a suspension that ended his season. Major League Baseball suspended the Milwaukee Brewers outfielder and 2011 National League MVP without pay for the remaining 65 regular-season games and any postseason games, effective immediately. Unlike the drug-program penalty he had successfully challenged the year before, this one would not go to appeal.
It was the first major suspension to emerge from MLB’s investigation of Biogenesis, a closed South Florida clinic accused of supplying players with banned substances. Commissioner Bud Selig cited violations of baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program and its Basic Agreement. The announcement did not name Biogenesis or specify Braun’s infractions. Under the agreement between MLB and the players’ association, the details of Braun’s admission were not made public, The Associated Press reported.
“I realize now that I have made some mistakes,” Braun said in a statement. “I am willing to accept the consequences of those actions.” He apologized to fans, the Brewers organization and his teammates, saying the situation had taken a toll on his family and distracted the club. MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred commended him for “taking responsibility for his past actions.”
The acceptance followed a much different public response to an earlier case. In October 2011, Braun had been notified that a urine sample tested positive for an elevated level of synthetic testosterone. An arbitration panel overturned the resulting 50-game suspension in February 2012 after his lawyers challenged the sample’s chain of custody; it had not been immediately shipped to the approved laboratory. MLB said it vehemently disagreed with the decision. Braun, speaking the next day with teammates present, declared, “The simple truth is that I’m innocent.”
The Biogenesis investigation brought renewed scrutiny in 2013. In February, Yahoo Sports published excerpts from clinic records containing Braun’s name. Braun said his lawyers had used Anthony Bosch, who ran the clinic, as a consultant during his appeal and that a compensation dispute explained the references. “I have nothing to hide and have never had any other relationship with Bosch,” he said then. Bosch later cooperated with MLB investigators, and Braun met with them in late June.
On the afternoon his suspension was announced, Braun told Brewers general manager Doug Melvin, manager Ron Roenicke and other club officials that he had accepted it. He then addressed his teammates before batting practice in a meeting lasting five to 10 minutes. He did not specifically admit taking performance-enhancing drugs. Second baseman Rickie Weeks described the mood as “somber” and said Braun appeared embarrassed; catcher Jonathan Lucroy described him as “depressed.”
The penalty would cost Braun millions of dollars in salary and leave Milwaukee without him for the rest of the season. Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio expressed disappointment but accepted his apology and said Braun should have an opportunity to redeem himself. Melvin declined to disclose the details of his conversation with Braun. After addressing the team, Braun left Miller Park without speaking to reporters.