Thoughts on Braun?

Got off on a "technicality". But nothing at all proves he wasn't juicing. Can he all but kiss any HOF chance goodbye now? Public opinion is GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY!

Bullshit

Nothing really proves he was guilty either.

Well his sample tested positive. The seal was proven to be untampered. I guess it's possible some guy pulled a bait and switch? But I think it's safe to assume that odds of that are pretty damn slim. We have all the "proof" we really need to make judgement. GUILTY!

No one is disputing the positive test, not Braun or anyone in his "camp". Just the procedure. Which is weird because if you read all about it. Seemed like he followed procedure to me.

They didn't attempt to prove the sample that came out of the testers home fridge a day later instead of being sent immediately to the lab, where he had two opportunities to do so and didn't, was Brauns. There was no validity to the sample after that. Pretty simple. If the MLBs system wasn't to lolwaffle they would of just tested him again a couple of days later and then if that sample came in and failed at three times higher positive rate than any other MLB test had in history, we'd know with out having to get all Afgan about it.

MLB and cable sports tried to sully the reputation of an innocent man. Picked the wrong guy to mess with. Truth will set u free.

Well as I understand it, it was a night game and there was no place to drop off the sample that night. It's against the rules to put it in a drop box. It's suppose to be legal for certain trained professionals to place the sample in a secure refrigerator until they can get the sample sent off. That happened. But like you said, what kind of goofy procedure would leave that person in that situation? A urine sample with no where to take it? Why are they testing on Saturday night at 10pm when he can't do anything with that sample at that time? MLB's fault for the gay ass procedure LOL, I'll agree with that for sure. HOWEVA, my opinion is still guilty, with the current information available.

They did not confirm that sample was his after it was contested. He offered to submit to a DNA test to confirm that the sample was or was not his which was denied by MLB. The tester when interviewed during this appeal process was a mess and is likely to be reviewed through further arbitration. The appeal process that is often a joke gets the opportunity to actual work right this time to the chagrin of MLB and it's commissioner. But that damage is done, the mob mentality labeled and is through with it. Braun is a cheater, already was a cheater the day it was announced a sample in his name had failed. Good game sensationalized media, another notch on the stick.

MLB source told ESPN's Mike Golic that Braun's side backed off of the offer to take a DNA test.

Sources told Quinn and Fainaru-Wada the seals were totally intact and testing never reflected any degradation of the sample. Based on the World Anti-Doping Agency code, this is exactly what would have been expected to happen, and the collector took the proper action, the source said.

The source also noted that synthetic testosterone doesn't show up just because a sample sits in one place or another.

I dunno, hard to say 100% that Braun is innocent here.

The safeguards put in place to protect ballplayers from unscrupulous testing worked. It is not known if his sample was tampered with, but it is also not known that it wasn't. What is known is that the burden of proof was not met.

This shows the appeals system can work, that an accused player can get a fair shake. A collectively bargained mechanism allows a player to dispute a positive drug test. Braun went through the process, and won. An independent arbitrator concluded the integrity of the process was compromised and upholding penalty was unjust and unfitting based on that. Was the sample tampered with or even Brauns? That cannot be properly answered.

But is it wrong for us to still form an opinion? It smells funny on both sides. But even with the gay ass procedure and the possibility of tampering. It's just hard for me to buy Braun's story of being clean. I could be wrong, obviously can't know anything for a "fact". But I haven't seen anything that would make me lean the other way on this yet.

Not surprised that someone who played baseball at Miami would be on the juice

bobbitt15 wrote:

Not surprised that someone who played baseball at Miami would be on the juice

fixed.

I wouldn't be willing to convict with a fractured line of necessary proof and an opinion in which maybes clearly still lingered.

GDPofDRC wrote:

I wouldn't be willing to convict with a fractured line of necessary proof and an opinion in which maybes clearly still lingered.

Well you couldn't convict because the evidence would be thrown out. But you can still have an opinion on what you think probably happened.

Evidence is very important in forming a valid opinion. This evidence is compromised and the circumstances regarding it are questionable in such a way that I would not have an opinion of guilt based on them.

GDPofDRC wrote:

Evidence is very important in forming a valid opinion. This evidence is compromised and the circumstances regarding it are questionable in such a way that I would not have an opinion of guilt based on them.

We don't have to play by the same procedural rules as they do, we are not limited in that way. If you personally don't feel comfortable with how the sample was handled and feel it is more likely that Braun is telling the truth, that's your opinion. I'm also not obligated to "innocent until proven guilty", I don't have those restrictions. We obviously can't present an opinion either way as fact, but we can still lean one way or the other just for this current moment in time. New evidence could always come forward, things can change, it could be proven one way or the other. But based on the current situation I lean toward the side that Braun was cheating. Just where I stand at this point in time.

Man when I heard this a while back I was like Ryan Braun? Still seems crazy him even being a possible user, hope it was all bullshit.

OK so just for fun. If you HAD to pick one of these options. Just your current feelings on the issue.
He probably did do some kind of illegal substance.
He is probably telling the truth.

Obviously we don't know, but of those options. Which one are you most comfortable with at the moment?

The more I hear, the more I'm sure it was just a technicality. Not just the guys comments.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7625905/milwaukee-brewers-ryan-braun-case-sample-collector-says-followed-protocols

But from all the "experts" out there. The seal was untampered and signed by Braun. The ONLY thing that could have happened where Braun didn't use any substance would be if that was if someone switched out the urine. Which just seems less and less likely.

I don't see how he got off... Guilty IMO and its another black eye for MLB

killerofchicken wrote:

I don't see how he got off... Guilty IMO and its another black eye for MLB

LOL come on. Does anyone expect any player to be clean these days?