The reigning National League Most Valuable Player Ryan Braun was suspended for 50 games a few months ago for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug.
Braun, in no uncertain terms, made it clear that he did not use drugs and that he would appeal the decision. Yesterday, an arbitrator residing over the case ruled in favor of Braun after determining that there was an error in processing Braun’s sample.
However, Braun is not satisfied. The MVP is upset with MLB for disagreeing with the arbitrator and for making Braun out to look like a cheater and drug user.
With becoming the first player to ever appeal his suspension successfully, Braun says that it is “the first step in restoring my good name and reputation.”
It is uncertain how exactly the false positive came about. It is likely that his sample was accidently switched with another sample or that his sample was contaminated due to where it was stored.
Regardless, this is a major blow to MLB’s drug testing policy. There are clearly flaws in the system that need to be addressed to insure that no future tests are subject to such false results that damage not only players, but the game itself when major players like Braun are put under fire.
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