Does Anyone Care About the Truth? The Real Reason Behind Ryan Braun's Failed Test
It seems as though the fallout from Ryan Braun's failed PED test has been contained, as things have been eerily quiet over the past month since Braun's 50 game suspension was overturned. Moving forward without recourse is probably a good thing for baseball, in general, but I think that the stakes are too high in this matter to let this thing go without further explanation.
Baseball's integrity, its leadership and the testing policies that have been put in place to help move beyond the * era are all in question, yet the silence implies that baseball is taking the path of least resistance. That is, they are seemingly content to let the court of public opinion fill in the blanks. I believe, and I'm sure you will agree, that this course is unfair to Ryan Braun (who has been mercilessly heckled in Spring Training), the parties that govern the MLB testing policies and anyone else that believes that baseball has moved forward.
It is unfair because, without all of the facts and circumstances, it's impossible to form an educated opinion and yet we're all entitled to do so. As I said before, given the language used by the defense team (which did not indicate that Braun took anything... meaning, his results were not a result of him eating too much steak or something like that), the scenarios that exist to explain the results are a.) Braun cheated but got off on a technicality (MLB's assertion) b.) Braun did not cheat and got off because there was tampering (Braun's assertion) or c.) Braun cheated but got off because of the appearance of a conflict of interest (lay public assertion).
I'd like to believe that Braun is innocent of all wrongdoing but I can't. If he cheated, he's a cheater regardless whether he's serving a suspension. It's tough for me to believe that Braun is innocent because his innocence would imply that there was tampering. Tampering, in my opinion, is the most far fetched conclusion of the three conclusions presented. I'm just not sure why a Milwaukee hometown collector with an impeccable reputation would tamper with Braun's results. If there was tampering, we deserve to know who was behind it and those parties need to be held accountable.
Lastly, if Selig's power and allegiance cultivated this result, then maybe it's time to make a change at the top. I want to be clear and forthright, the Selig family is technically and financially disconnected from the Brewer franchise and personally, I don't believe that Selig is involved in any wrongdoing, however, Bud's statue does sit outside of Miller Park and everyone knows his allegiance. His power as commissioner almost certainly gives him the ability to have a say in the hiring/firing of the independent arbitrator (a man by the name of Shyam Das who, according to Deadspin... yeah, I know... earned approximately $64,000 per case in 2010). Das has shown a track record of ruling in favor of the Office of MLB (and against the players). In this case, Das may have known that this was his chance to rule in favor of the players and still look good in the eyes of Selig and the Office of Major League Baseball. His motive - job security.
Admittedly, this is a sloppy piece almost entirely comprised of heresay and conspiracy theory but the fact that it's sloppy gets to the heart of my point; without a more thorough investigation, there is no way to get around the sloppy conspiracy theories.
Baseball's integrity, its leadership and the testing policies that have been put in place to help move beyond the * era are all in question, yet the silence implies that baseball is taking the path of least resistance. That is, they are seemingly content to let the court of public opinion fill in the blanks. I believe, and I'm sure you will agree, that this course is unfair to Ryan Braun (who has been mercilessly heckled in Spring Training), the parties that govern the MLB testing policies and anyone else that believes that baseball has moved forward.
It is unfair because, without all of the facts and circumstances, it's impossible to form an educated opinion and yet we're all entitled to do so. As I said before, given the language used by the defense team (which did not indicate that Braun took anything... meaning, his results were not a result of him eating too much steak or something like that), the scenarios that exist to explain the results are a.) Braun cheated but got off on a technicality (MLB's assertion) b.) Braun did not cheat and got off because there was tampering (Braun's assertion) or c.) Braun cheated but got off because of the appearance of a conflict of interest (lay public assertion).
I'd like to believe that Braun is innocent of all wrongdoing but I can't. If he cheated, he's a cheater regardless whether he's serving a suspension. It's tough for me to believe that Braun is innocent because his innocence would imply that there was tampering. Tampering, in my opinion, is the most far fetched conclusion of the three conclusions presented. I'm just not sure why a Milwaukee hometown collector with an impeccable reputation would tamper with Braun's results. If there was tampering, we deserve to know who was behind it and those parties need to be held accountable.
Lastly, if Selig's power and allegiance cultivated this result, then maybe it's time to make a change at the top. I want to be clear and forthright, the Selig family is technically and financially disconnected from the Brewer franchise and personally, I don't believe that Selig is involved in any wrongdoing, however, Bud's statue does sit outside of Miller Park and everyone knows his allegiance. His power as commissioner almost certainly gives him the ability to have a say in the hiring/firing of the independent arbitrator (a man by the name of Shyam Das who, according to Deadspin... yeah, I know... earned approximately $64,000 per case in 2010). Das has shown a track record of ruling in favor of the Office of MLB (and against the players). In this case, Das may have known that this was his chance to rule in favor of the players and still look good in the eyes of Selig and the Office of Major League Baseball. His motive - job security.
Admittedly, this is a sloppy piece almost entirely comprised of heresay and conspiracy theory but the fact that it's sloppy gets to the heart of my point; without a more thorough investigation, there is no way to get around the sloppy conspiracy theories.
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