The Needle and the Damage Done: How Drug Cheat Ryan Braun Deceived Us All

If you didn’t catch the big news from Major League Baseball this week, Milwaukee star and former MVP Ryan Braun has been suspended for the remainder of this season, a total of 65 games, in yet another embarrassing steroid saga for the sport. We’re continually told that the steroid era is over, that these scumrats can’t get away with it any longer, but the dark shadow of PEDs still lingers like a bad smell. Players all stress that they’d rather these highly publicised scandals than nothing, because it means that the cheats are being smoked out, but it’s still a dagger to the heart of a great sport. The MLB needs to be commended for their efforts here, but as Mike the Cleaner would have said, “No more half measures”. 65 games is a slap on the wrist for this guy.

Ryan Braun is a superstar in baseball. He was the National League MVP in 2011, Rookie of the Year in 2007. He led the league in home runs last season. Plus he’s always been a really likeable guy, an All-American type, much sought after endorser; “The Hebrew Hammer” is an icon in the Jewish and Wisconsin communities. He even opened restaurant with Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers (probably the only current sportsman in Wisconsin more popular than himself). Like any top ball player since the steroid era, he was often the subject of doping talks, which he vehemently and confidently denied. Then in 2012 he was banned for 50 games for PED use. Not many saw that coming. Alex Rodriguez, sure, but not Ryan Braun. He’s the kid next door who made it big; he wouldn’t lead us all on like that. Would he? Well, yes, he would. Emphatically.

He dodged that suspension on a technicality. Some moron left the test out past the point at which it could be contaminated, and Braun won his appeal. All the time he continued to deny any involvement. His name was linked in the current Biogenesis Clinic saga, he still denied everything. His buddy Aaron Rodgers was so sure of Braun’s innocence, that he said he’d bet his entire season’s salary on it. Whoops. I would love to believe that this is all a mistake, but I just can’t bring myself to be that naive. Now in his sly way, he’s admitted to it all by accepting this bargain suspension.

The suspension actually means very little to the man himself. Braun has a history of niggling injuries and Milwaukee is out of the playoff race. Basically, it’s an extended, enforced holiday. Sure, he loses the rest of his 2013 salary, which adds up to around $3.5 million US, but his contract guarantees him around $100 million over the next seven years. It’s a slap on the wrist and it’s a dangerous precedent. Will other cheats be able to negotiate favourable deals? Like governments with terrorists, there is no reason why the authorities should be negotiating with drug cheats.

The worst thing about this whole Braun deal, though, is his pathetic statement.  Here is the disgraceful proclamation in full:

“As I have acknowledged in the past, I am not perfect. I realize now that I have made some mistakes. I am willing to accept the consequences of those actions. This situation has taken a toll on me and my entire family, and it is has been a distraction to my teammates and the Brewers organization. I am very grateful for the support I have received from players, ownership and the fans in Milwaukee and around the country. Finally, I wish to apologize to anyone I may have disappointed – all of the baseball fans especially those in Milwaukee, the great Brewers organization, and my teammates. I am glad to have this matter behind me once and for all, and I cannot wait to get back to the game I love.”

First of all, he hardly “accepted the consequences”. If his first failed test had stood, he should have been looking at a minimum of 100 games the second time around. And as for the “toll on his family” and the “distraction” to his teammates and organisation, IT WAS ALL HIS FAULT! Don’t wanna cause a distraction? DON’T CHEAT! It’s simple. Ryan, you CAUSED the distraction! It offends me to no end that he is playing himself up as a victim here. You cheated, buddy, you get no sympathy. But it’s ok guys, because he’s apologised and he’ll be back soon to continue tainting the game he loves. As if that wasn’t sickening enough, Major League Baseball have commended him for admitting his guilt! They ought to be throwing the S.O.B. in prison for fraud. The most revealing part of their own statement was that it “is in the best interests of the game to resolve this matter”. That’s right, sweep it under the rug.

The thing is we as fans won’t forget this in a hurry. Players under drug clouds carry those suspicions their entire careers and longer. Alex Rodriguez has never actually tested positive in his life, but what will his reputation be? Now Ryan Braun looks like becoming a spokesperson for anti-doping. I cannot imagine a worse person for the job. He’s not a recovered addict or a victim of abuse, he’s a conscious cheat. He’s a villain of the sport. We all thought once that he was a genuinely nice guy, but it turns out that was a cultivated deception all along. His smug denials now seem Bill Clinton-esque with their straight faced lies. Now he comes out and admits it like we should all feel sorry for him and the position he’s found himself in. This man played us for fools. He damaged the integrity of baseball. We don’t need people like Ryan Braun in sport.

No more half measures, MLB. No more half measures.

  - Wildcard