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Old 10-09-2021, 12:13 AM
BobC BobC is offline
Bob C.
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Ohio
Posts: 3,275
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Originally Posted by the 'stache View Post
He tried to destroy a man's life? Really? You don't think that's a bit over the top with the hyperbole?

Let's look at what Ryan Braun actually said, shall we?

Here's the portion of his press conference transcript dealing with the collector, Dino Laurenzi Jr, and the collection process. Show me where he "tried to destroy a man's life."

From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel archive



That's the extent of his commentary about the collector, Dino Laurenzi Jr.

Please show me, specifically, in that commentary before the press, where he attempted to "destroy" Laurenzi Jr.'s life.

I will remind you that, firstly, the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, agreed to by both Major League Baseball, and the Player's Union, requires the entire process to be confidential.

We should have never found out about any issue with Braun's urine test. Somebody leaked the test results to the media (ESPN's Outside the Lines, to be specific), and this whole circus ensued.

Show me one thing in that portion of Braun's statement that was manifestly inaccurate. Please.

I will remind you, further, that Baseball's Independent Arbitrator, Shyam Das, who had handled several appeals for MLB, sided with Braun, and threw out the suspension. That was the first time that a player had ever appealed, and won. That should speak volumes as to both the infallibility of the process under normal circumstances, and how many abnormalities there were in Braun's case.

Major League Baseball then proceeded to fire Shyam Das. But, no sour grapes there, right? Das had been Baseball's permanent arbitrator for 13 years. The first time it was ruled that the appealing player proved their case, MLB fired the arbitrator.

Doesn't that sound just a little suspect to you? The whole appeals process sounds like a sham if the independent arbitrator is summarily dismissed when they don't agree with the league. For thirteen years, MLB loved his work. The first time he took the side of the player, and the Player's Union, instead of Major League Baseball, they showed him the door.

Sounds completely objective to me!

Baseball tried again. Braun's name appeared a few times on BALCO documentation during the Biogenesis investigation-no specifics about drugs purchased, unlike every other athlete mentioned on the paperwork. Just Braun's name, along with one of his attorney's names, and a dollar amount.

That's what he was ultimately suspended over.

Couldn't it be possible, Jim, that everything Braun said was true? If Das sided with him, clearly there were procedural issues that rendered the sample's result as unreliable.

If you were in Braun's position, and the collector took your sample home for nearly two days, with no documentation, and then your test results were leaked to the press, wouldn't you be just a little suspicious? Would you be in the wrong to allude to questionable procedural adherence in a public statement?

Show me where Braun insinuated that Laurenzi Jr screwed with his sample because Braun is Jewish?

Because in reading this multiple times to refresh my memory, the only time that religion, or religious preference, is mentioned, occurred here:



The only time that Dino Laurenzi Jr's character, or professionalism, is ever called into question is here:



Is that seeking to "destroy a man's life"? Really?

I see a statement, clearly written in conjunction with Braun's legal team, and his PR firm, addressing the issues that were brought before Shyam Das. The specifics of what they found with the collector are not addressed, but they don't really need to be. He clearly did not properly execute the function of his position. If he had, there wouldn't have been grounds for appeal.

Braun won his appeal. Das found that there were fatal flaws with the collection process, and chain of custody. The Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program requires that, absent some extraordinary circumstance, the collector drop the biological sample off at a Fed Ex facility, of which there were several locations, including one that was available to receive these kinds of samples 24 hours. Dino Laurenzi Jr did not do what was required of him. He took the sample home, popped it into a cooler (not a refrigerator) for approximately 48 hours on the shelf of his basement office.


Did Ryan Braun break Major League Baseball's rules, violating the Joint Program? Absolutely. Did he lie about it? Yup, and I was pissed at Braun, as a Brewers fan, for a number of years. But after that mixture of anger and profound disappointment passed, I decidedly to go back, and objectively look at everything I could find, parsing the myriad articles for fact, and for conjecture.

The truth of the matter is that Braun didn't use a performance enhancing drug. That's another patently inaccurate falsehood that's been floated around by the media, media who has, apparently, no requirement to adhere to any kind of journalistic integrity in their reporting. All they care about is revenue.

First, how about a working definition of what a performance enhancing drug is. From The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine:



As Braun alluded to in his press conference statement, he didn't realize any kind of performance enhancement.



The banned substance he took was used to heal an injury.

Here's the portion of Ryan Braun's statement, released by Major League Baseball on their own website, after accepting his 100 game suspension:



Any long time Brewers fan is aware of the calf injury Braun sustained during the 2011 season that continued to plague him throughout the rest of the season. Twice, Braun was nearly placed on the DL, but taking a few games off helped him to avoid a prolonged absence. The injury flared before Milwaukee's post season series with the Diamondbacks, and he took substances to try and expedite his recovery time.

So much of what actually happened has been sensationalized, and "facts" have been fabricated out of thin air. Braun made a dumb mistake, but the amount of piling on has been absurd.

Here's a fact. Dino Laurenzi Jr was fired by his employer because he failed to follow procedure. His dismissal had not a thing to do with anything Braun said, but a review of the facts germane to his appeal, and the determination that Dino Laurenzi Jr failed to discharge the duties of his job properly.

If what Ryan Braun said about Laurenzi Jr was so egregious in damaging his reputation, surely some proactive attorney in the Milwaukee or Chicago area would have contacted him, just itching to file a defamation of character lawsuit. But, curiously, that never happened.

I wonder why that is? I wonder why Laurenzi Jr got fired, and why Major League Baseball fired the guy that overturned Braun's suspension?

We all know that Major League Baseball upholds the highest ethical standard, right? Like, they would never knowingly look away while Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were juiced to the hilt, chasing Roger Maris' single season home run record. Attendance was down league wide after the 1994 strike. The home run race put butts in the seats, and television viewership skyrocketed. Before Maris, one man, Babe Ruth, had ever reached 60 home runs. I'm certain that Major League Baseball found it completely legitimate when Sammy Sosa hit 66 home runs, and Mark McGwire hit 70. So, I find it just a little hypocritical how aggressively they pursued Ryan Braun for using a little cream on his calf muscle, and then, when they lost the appeal, they went after him again for something else. I guess in the span of fourteen years, Major League Baseball found religion.

I in no way excuse Ryan Braun for breaking the rules, and then lying about it. If he, or anyone else breaks the rules, they deserve to get suspended. I also feel that the league should be held to the same standard, and clearly, they are not.

But I'm not going to sit idly bye and watch his name continue to be dragged through the mud, when so many of these statements are based on gross misrepresentations of the truth. We don't place nearly enough importance on factual veracity in the year 2021. Things posted online get accepted as fact, and many times, they are from factually accurate.

I suspect that Braun didn't want to have to go through the whole appeals process again after his name appeared three times on BALCO paperwork (once, along with his attorney's name, and an amount paid. Braun and his attorney stated that Anthony Bosch had been hired as a consultant during his 2011 appeal. Bosch confirmed to ESPN that Braun's legal team merely consulted with him during Braun's appeal, and confirmed that he never spoke to Braun himself.

Bosch backs Braun on Biogenesis explanation. Former head of anti-aging clinic affirms slugger's claim of attorney consultation

Why should Braun go through that costly, and exhausting process again? To provide the media with more opportunity to smear him? The system had been so fair to him the first time. It was clear to me, and several other friends of mine who were not fans of the Brewers, that Major League Baseball was not going to stop going after Ryan Braun until they had their public flogging. Braun knew he couldn't possibly fight MLB indefinitely. The resources they have, the ability to summarily dismiss independent arbitrators who don't rule in a manner that pleases them.

I ask you, Jim: would you have done anything differently than Braun did?

Braun in his press conference attacked not Dino Laurenzi Jr, but the totality of the process that had failed to uphold his rights as guaranteed by the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

Did the words he read aloud amount to egg on his face a year or two later when he accepted a suspension in 2013? Yes. Is that entirely Braun's fault? Absolutely not. He had a high paid legal team, and public relations firm, that crafted what he read. That's evident to anybody with even a cursory legal background. As intelligent as Braun is, the language adopted in his statement was clearly heavily influenced by outside personnel. In retrospect, the wise thing to do would have been to release a statement after winning the appeal. Appearing in front of the press amounted to a victory lap, one that looked foolish (to say the least) after his suspension two years later.

Braun was the National League MVP runner up in 2012. He set a career high in leading the league with 41 home runs, this while being tested with a much greater frequency. Braun had never tested positive before 2011 (his own words, he'd been tested approximately 25 times prior), and never tested positive again.

As for the rancor exhibited by numerous people in this discussion, you should be thankful that the mistakes you make are not in the presence of reporters, and cameras. You are afforded the anonymity Braun was not. When you do something wrong, you are not subjected to scrutiny by newspapers, ESPN, etc. But if you were so scrutinized, I would hope you'd be extended more grace than any of you are giving Braun now.

He made a stupid mistake. He's not the first professional athlete to use something that Big Daddy didn't approve of, and he's not going to be the last. Common sense would suggest that he only used those substances because the things allowed by Major League Baseball were ineffective in addressing his injury. Blame him for breaking the rules. Absolutely. I did, and do. But instead of casting him into the seventh circle of hell for defending himself publicly, perhaps put yourself in his position.

The league, and the owners, collect their money regardless. The athletes, who play 162 games in the regular season alone, another 40 in spring training, and up to another 30 in the playoffs, have to deal with injuries day in, day out. They are expected to perform, regardless.

He certainly didn't cheat to make more money, as many have suggested. He signed an extension before the 2011 season that promised to pay him in excess of $100 million, with a large portion guaranteed.

I think Braun knew the Brewers had a rare chance to get to, and possibly win the World Series, and that without him healthy, there was no chance for them to win it. He made a bad decision. He broke the rules. But if that's true, hell, if it's even plausibly true, can you blame him for wanting to be his normal self?

Braun has done everything possible to make amends. He got together with Dino Laurenzi Jr and his family, and apologized in person. Laurenzi accepted his apology. He's been nothing but a model teammate since, and has done everything he could to help the city of Milwaukee.

Instead of continuing to trash him, how about some of you guys exhibit a little charity? We all make mistakes. I would think we'd hope for forgiveness in light of the fact that none of us are perfect.
So you're saying Pete Rose should have never been suspended and should have been inducted into Cooperstown already?
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