Do you ever have a lack of opinion on a subject? To the point where you don’t even want to talk about it? I’m sure you have. That’s how I want to feel about this Ryan Braun situation. I want to be indifferent and know that justice was served. I want to just have it be a non-issue; either he’s a steroid user or not. Either he’s guilty or innocent. I hate this “not-guilty” followed by Braun proclaiming he was a victim of a “flawed system.” No. It just doesn’t sit well. I tweeted yesterday that I didn’t want to dignify that arbitrator’s decision with a post full of words, but the best part about having a blog is that writing allows you to express how you truly feel about a subject. How I truly feel about this subject? I’m the victim here. And here’s why:
1. Steroids were gone: Baseball was finally moving on from its tainted image as a bunch of oversized, cheating monsters of men until this Braun bombshell. Barry Bonds is on probation. Jose Conseco can no longer make money off of book sales about how many steroids he ingested. And recently, baseball became the first North American professional sports league to institute HGH testing. Simply, baseball fans thought steroids were in the past: some far away time to be looked back upon and judged someday when you tell your kids where you were when McGwuire hit his 62nd, or how every pitcher threw 95 and didn’t get hurt. Sure you’d have a rogue minor leaguer (Jordan Schafer comes to mind), or a quirky Major Leaguer get caught twice and immediately retire but, the game was largely unaffected by steroids: it was clean.
2. Powers that be: Baseball has been largely free of conspiracies throughout its history. Sure the 1918 Black Sox are the proverbial black mark on the game, but this is something entirely different. David Stern exercised his powers in a ridiculous veto. Now, we can’t help but think that maybe somebody behind the scenes pressed the magic button and allowed Braun to get off scotch free. It’s a scary thought. Bud Selig is a Brewers man, he’s a Brewers guy. You can’t say it’s not a little bit possible and as far as the long term implications of a puppet master looking over the game of baseball, I’m scared.
3. I liked Braun: Ryan Braun was one of those guys that I patterned my game after. I wanted to hit like him, and play left field like him. I’ve been likened facially to the Brewer (yeah, that’s right) and from all accounts he seems like a good enough guy. I dropped one of his home run balls two years back (I broke the rule that you gotta bring your glove to the park) and I’ve always felt a strong connection to the guy. Now? He seems like just another rich, spoiled politician. He’s bought his reputation and somehow thinks that is ok. I do not understand how the guy can stand there and say he’s a victim because some guy thought the FedEx Kinko’s was closed at 6 pm on a Saturday so he waited until Sunday to send the guilty urine sample off to be tested. It just proves that you can get away with anything if you have enough money.
4. Braun’s a baby: I can’t stand the way Ryan Braun has gone about this whole thing (From saying “It’s B.S.” when the reports surfaced to now claiming he’s a victim). He claimed the whole time that he was innocent! Then, his defense was that the guy who took his pee sample didn’t send it away quick enough. There’s a huge difference between innocent and not guilty because the FedEx store may or may not have been closed. Braun benefited from increased testosterone and should serve his suspension for it.
5. Bonds and Braun: The face of the steroids era? Barry Bonds. The main guy to not fail a drug test and is still suspected of steroid use? Barry Bonds. Baseball and baseball fans don’t care if you fail a drug test. They only care that you probably took steroids. And (I’m sorry Ryan) Braun probably took something that gave him a competitive advantage. His reputation is damaged, but he doesn’t have to serve any suspension. Braun is guilty. Just like Bonds was guilty.
It’s very simply the case of a guy committing murder and getting away with it because the cop failed to read him his Miranda Rights. It’s a loophole and one that is sure to be sewn up after the fact. It’s sad because it happened with the reigning MVP, and it’s happening on the largest of stages.
Braun may not have been guilty, but he’s worse in my mind. That he cared so much about his legacy and reputation shows his true interests. I’m a big fan of honesty and so is the court of public opinion. I’m not counting Braun innocent and I look forward to boo-ing him loudly the next time I see him.
I hope Ryan Braun is truly happy with the decision because I certainly am not.
-Sean Morash
