Ryan Braun: ‘The truth prevailed’

Published 8:31 pm Friday, February 24, 2012

PHOENIX — Saying “my name has been dragged through the mud,” 2011 NL MVP Ryan Braun reported to spring training with the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday and declared himself vindicated, a day after his 50-game suspension for a positive drug test was overturned by an arbitrator.

Braun’s teammates sat in the stands, in uniform, as he held a news conference on the field at the team’s training complex. Braun said that, since what was supposed to be a confidential appeal was played out in public, “I’ve lived this nightmare every day for the last four months.”

Braun detailed how the urine sample he provided on Oct. 1, the day the Brewers opened the playoffs, was not delivered to Federal Express until Oct. 3. Baseball’s drug agreement calls for samples to be delivered to FedEx on the same day they are collected.

“At the end of the day the truth prevailed,” Braun said. “I’m a victim of a process that completely broke down and failed in the way that it was applied to me in the case. As players, we’re held to a standard of 100 percent perfection regarding the program, and everybody else associated with that program should be held to the same standard. We’re a part of a process where you’re 100 percent guilty until proven innocent. It’s the opposite of the American judicial system.”

Braun said, because of the delay sending his sample to a lab, the testing was “fatally flawed.”

“I don’t honestly know what happened to it in that 44-hour period,” he said.

Braun learned Oct. 19 his sample was positive for elevated testosterone, which he said was at a ratio that was the highest ever recorded in baseball’s testing program. The positive test, had it stood up, would have caused him to be suspended for the first 50 games of the season.

ESPN reported the positive test in December.

“I tried to handle the entire situation with honor, with integrity, with class, with dignity and with professionalism because that’s who I am and that’s how I’ve always lived my life,” he said. “If I had done this intentionally or unintentionally, I’d be the first one to step up and I say I did it. By no means am I perfect, but if I’ve ever made any mistakes in my life, I’ve taken responsibility for my actions. I truly believe in my heart and I would bet my life that the substance never entered my body at any point.”

He criticized the media for leaking the positive test, saying there had been “many inaccurate, erroneous, incomplete and fabricated stories regarding this issue.”

“My name has been dragged through the mud as everything I’ve ever worked for in my life has been called into question,” he said.

Braun, who hit .332 with 33 homers and 111 RBIs last year, is the first Major League Baseball player to have his suspension lifted by an arbitrator for a drug-related penalty.

His suspension hung over the NL Central champion Brewers all winter, and manager Ron Roenicke was relieved to know he’ll have Braun in his lineup from Day One. Milwaukee lost slugger Prince Fielder to free agency and couldn’t be afford to be without its other big bat for too long.

“We’re a lot better,” Roenicke. “Really, that’s what it comes down to. This is not just a great player but he’s a guy who we need in our clubhouse and we need him in the locker room. His presence means a lot. … We were certainly hoping this was the outcome.”

Arbitrator Shyam Das threw out Braun’s ban on Thursday. Das, who has been baseball’s independent arbitrator since 2000, informed the sides of his decision but did not give them a written opinion. He has 30 days to do so.

MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred said management “vehemently disagrees” with Das’ decision.