Braun wins appeal

[14holestogie]

Did not expect this, but welcome news to Brewer's fans.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2012/02/ryan-braun-brewers-suspension-drugs/1

[ChicagoWhiteSox]

Big for the Brew Crew

[GreekGodX]

Heard it was because a courier didn't take positive test to fed ex building thought it was closed Saturday night. Huge win for Braun and the Brewers.

[kelmac07]

This is HUGE for the Brew Crew. I must admit, I didn't think he had a chance in hell to win this appeal.

[yourchoice]

Wow, didn't see that coming.

[elderboy02]

I wonder how much Braun paid the courier to mess up the delivery :hm

Braun will always be a cheater in my book. Test positive, you are guilty. Stupid technicalities.

[chippewastud79]

The test administrator followed protocol, kept the specimen sealed and put it in the mail the next business day. Somehow, because protocol told him to wait until he can send it FedEx, Braun gets to walk because the sample stayed sealed for 2 days. :confused:

I wonder how much Braun paid the courier to mess up the delivery :hm

Braun will always be a cheater in my book. Test positive, you are guilty. Stupid technicalities.

I wonder if your attitude would be the same if he played for the Reds. :hm

[elderboy02]

I wonder if your attitude would be the same if he played for the Reds. :hm

Yep. I don't like cheaters.

[chippewastud79]

Yep. I don't like cheaters.

Unfortunately, you like a lot of cheaters, just some of them haven't/won't be caught. ;)

[icehog3]

I watch Cheaters on TV all the time, and I've never seen Ryan Braun on it.

Good news for the Brew Crew.

[never_enough]

More power to him for finding a hole in the system. Now it can be fixed for future potential offenders.

[Wanger]

Pretty pathetic that a loophole like that allows him to get off. As for a 20:1 ratio in the sample (as stated in the article), it's pretty damning. The likelihood that it was tampered with is slim to none. If any of you have taken a drug test, you'd know that the sample is supposed to be sealed in front of you, and you have forms to sign which match up with the seal tag on the vial. Overnight storage in a refrigerator will NOT affect the results. The metabolites won't be created, nor destroyed in the sample. As I'm sure most of you know, samples are preserved in refrigeration for years, so overnight before shipping to the testing facility is not an issue at all.

Hopefully the loophole is closed and other cheaters like Braun get the punishment they deserve. Look for a lot of backlash if he has a poor season. As I've seen others state, I'd bet that he'll come up a lot in the "random" testing throughout the year. :2

[jonumberone]

There are reports coming out today that the only way to challenge a positive test is to challenge the process.
You cannot challenge the results.
It has to be done this way per the collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the Players association.
Braun was administered a second test immediately after he tested positive and that test came up clean.
Truth be told, his results should've never been leaked, we should all be none the wiser, and have nothing to quibble over!

[massphatness]

The likelihood that it was tampered with is slim to none.

This is what chain of custody is all about, right?

[larryinlc]

Aaron Rodgers says he's innocent so that's good enough for me.:tu

[shilala]

I'm with Braun on this one, for one reason.
The rules are in place to handle the specimen.
The rules were broken.
A man's livelihood, career, and good name are riding in this sample. That's worth following technicalities to a tee. At least my life is worth that, and I feel that way about anyone else's life.
If someone in that chain is so flippant that they can't follow simple instructions, it shows to me that they're equally careless enough to let a sample be tainted, tampered with, misplaced, mislabeled, you name it.
If the system is broke, fix it.
If humans are too stupid to follow a few rules when a man's life is riding on it, then do away with the system lest even a single man be punished unjustly.

[14holestogie]

This is what chain of custody is all about, right?

Exactly. The end result is Braun appealed, based on a bargained procedure that was not followed, and won his appeal based on that lack of procedure being followed. If you want to ban based on the rules you have to follow the rules. :2

Of course, Scott said it much more eloquently above. What can I say. I'm at work and I don't like to think that hard here. :D

[Stephen]

There are reports coming out today that the only way to challenge a positive test is to challenge the process.
You cannot challenge the results.
It has to be done this way per the collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the Players association.
Braun was administered a second test immediately after he tested positive and that test came up clean.
Truth be told, his results should've never been leaked, we should all be none the wiser, and have nothing to quibble over!
Great post, Dom.:tu

[ChicagoWhiteSox]

There is a possibility that Braun paid off the collector because he knew he would test positive. There's many things that could have happened. Braun gave a great speach today too. His attorneys groomed the hell out of him before today.

[Stephen]

I wonder how much Braun paid the courier to mess up the delivery :hm

Braun will always be a cheater in my book. Test positive, you are guilty. Stupid technicalities.
Hopefully the loophole is closed and other cheaters like Braun get the punishment they deserve. Look for a lot of backlash if he has a poor season.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xZn-MLAvVBM/TtL8pmqrVLI/AAAAAAAAEHc/0iZ4nOGPN-I/s1600/haters-gonna-hate-11.jpg
As I've seen others state, I'd bet that he'll come up a lot in the "random" testing throughout the year. :2
Like the three he passed during the regular season, or the one he passed immediately after the, "positive" test?

[larryinlc]

This would have been interesting.....

"He and his lawyers, sources say, offered a DNA sample that could have been compared to the urine sample to determine whether the urine came from Braun. It was a bold move by Braun attorneys David Cornwell and Christopher Lyons. But instead of agreeing to a DNA test that would have determined conclusively whether it was Braun's urine that tested positive, MLB declined the offer. The refusal to agree to the DNA test likely pushed the arbitrator toward a ruling for Braun. It was also a major first step for Braun in the effort to clear his name. He and his attorneys can now argue that he was clean and that MLB deliberately denied him the opportunity to prove that scientifically"

[ChicagoWhiteSox]

This would have been interesting.....

"He and his lawyers, sources say, offered a DNA sample that could have been compared to the urine sample to determine whether the urine came from Braun. It was a bold move by Braun attorneys David Cornwell and Christopher Lyons. But instead of agreeing to a DNA test that would have determined conclusively whether it was Braun's urine that tested positive, MLB declined the offer. The refusal to agree to the DNA test likely pushed the arbitrator toward a ruling for Braun. It was also a major first step for Braun in the effort to clear his name. He and his attorneys can now argue that he was clean and that MLB deliberately denied him the opportunity to prove that scientifically"

Didn't the MLB agree to the DNA test after they at first declined? I thought the ball was back in Braun's court and his party declined.

[larryinlc]

Didn't the MLB agree to the DNA test after they at first declined? I thought the ball was back in Braun's court and his party declined.

Looks like a little more to that story

Sources also told Munson that there was doubt over whose urine was actually being tested. Braun offered to take a DNA test to confirm whose urine was in the sample, but Major League Baseball declined. However, an MLB source told ESPN's Mike Golic that Braun's side backed off of the offer to take a DNA test.

[shilala]

MLB's stance is that you can't fight the results, just the process. It's tough to decide what you're challenging if you agree to a DNA test. They'd have to admit that the result was in question, and their stance is that they'll never do that.
That's a guess, but I can see where it'd be difficult to decide if they'd accept a DNA test, it opens up a big can of worms. They're better off losing than letting every single player challenge the autheticity of the tests.
Now that this came up, I bet it's addressed in the next CBA.
As a player, I'd want a DNA test on the sample to make sure it was my pee.

[The Poet]

More power to him for finding a hole in the system. Now it can be fixed for future potential offenders.


That's just it, and the reason MLB should, IMHO, challenge this in federal court to get the decision overturned. From now on, every player will seek whatever loopholes he can find, or construct, to avoid the consequences of his poor choices.

Don't get me wrong . . . I'm not saying Braun is guilty, and skated on a mere technicality (though that second part is certainly true). What I am saying is that the matter of guilt or innocence should be determined by the truth, and not the facts. There is a difference.

[icehog3]

That's just it, and the reason MLB should, IMHO, challenge this in federal court to get the decision overturned. From now on, every player will seek whatever loopholes he can find, or construct, to avoid the consequences of his poor choices.

Don't get me wrong . . . I'm not saying Braun is guilty, and skated on a mere technicality (though that second part is certainly true). What I am saying is that the matter of guilt or innocence should be determined by the truth, and not the facts. There is a difference.

I agree with your logic, regardless of guilt in this particular case.

[Starscream]

Does anyone know what the test result actually came up positive for (other than elevated testosterone levels)? There are so many banned substances on the list now that it's getting to the point of ridiculousness. I think we're all pretty sure that Braun is not injecting like the boys did in the 90s.

[ChicagoWhiteSox]

Does anyone know what the test result actually came up positive for (other than elevated testosterone levels)? There are so many banned substances on the list now that it's getting to the point of ridiculousness. I think we're all pretty sure that Braun is not injecting like the boys did in the 90s.

Yeah, but something like bat speed is hard to measure. He could have easily increased his bat speed and no one would know unless they were gunning his bat at a game.

[Stephen]

Does anyone know what the test result actually came up positive for (other than elevated testosterone levels)? There are so many banned substances on the list now that it's getting to the point of ridiculousness. I think we're all pretty sure that Braun is not injecting like the boys did in the 90s.
Chesse curds. I'm going with cheese curds.

[Starscream]

Chesse curds. I'm going with cheese curds.

:r

Cheese curds with a boost of testosterone.