No Major League player that has tested positive under the league’s current drug policy has ever won an appeal. Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun is looking to be the first and TMZ.com reports that he is defending himself by claiming that his positive came from medication that he took to deal with a private medical issue.
Braun, the National League MVP, could be out for the first 50 games of the season if he does not win his appeal. On Monday, the Brewers told MLB.com that they still didn’t know when the appeal would take place. “”As bizarre as it may sound, we don’t know anything,” assistant GM Gord Ash said, the site reprots. “Nobody should have known anything at this point.”
The attorney for Braun, David Cornwell, appeared on CNN on Friday, MLB.com reports, saying, “Confidentiality was breached here, and I think we will find — I fully expect to be able to demonstrate that Ryan did not violate the substance policy of Major League Baseball. And consequently, we shouldn’t be dealing with this discussion at all, but at a minimum, I urge everybody to keep an open mind and give us the chance to make our case in private.”
Braun batted .332 with 33 homers, 38 doubles, and 33 stolen bases this past season.
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