Milwaukee Brewers’ all-star, MVP, left fielder Ryan Braun has tested positive for PEDs according to ESPN’s Outside the Lines. The story states that Braun tested positive for testosterone levels at least four times higher than normal and an additional test from the International Doping Agency in Montreal confirmed that the testosterone could not have been produced by Braun’s body. The Brewers’ star is, of course, appealing the decision and staunchly maintaining his innocence.
Braun has been considered one of baseball’s post-steroid era golden boys. He is supposed to be one of the clean-era good guys that has proven big offense will still exist without chemical upgrades, all of that has come crashing down.
So now Braun is a cheater. He broke the rules, he cheated. The sad thing is even if he somehow does successfully appeal the charges many will still consider him to be a cheater. We live in such a cynical age that even a full-fledged press conference featuring the scientists, Bud Seilig, the President and assorted Gods bith full and demi will most likely not shake the accusations from Braun’s record. There will always be a question.
This cynical age has also spawned a cabal of individuals that contend performance enhancing drugs do not actually significantly enhance performance in any real way, at least not in baseball. The same drugs that may give someone the ability to lift more weight do not necessarily help you get the barrell of a bat through the strike zone any faster; nor give one the hand-eye-coordination to hit that ball the necessary way. This may all well be true, but I do not subscribe to that belief. But at the end of the day it does not matter. It does not matter if the drugs did/ do nothing, maybe it is/ was all in the players’ minds the bottom line is that they are banned and now serious consequences are associated with failing these tests.
Honestly, I see this argument everyday in my classes – particularly my government class when it comes to the criminalization of certain substances and the social acceptance of others. Children are quite remarkable divining rods of perceived hyopcrisy. When they see something they feel is unfair or violates their rights in some way they attack it like a cougar on a wounded baby deer. My stock responses usually range from playing devil’s advocate to get them more engaged to claiming cultural and societal differences lead to variations in accepted behaviors. No matter which road I take as I navigate the class through the debate I usually end with this basic truth: It is against the rules, and like any other rule you may try and break it and even get away with it for a minute – but when you get caught all of these arguments will mean nothing because you broke the rules.
Ryan Braun has appeared to have broken the rules. some of the more “enlightened” among us may sit on their very high horses and condemn the discussion for even taking place because nothing has been proven. Does synthetic testosterone have any real impact on your ability to play the game? Or is it just another copper-bracelet or homeopathic remedy closer to snake oil than science? We can have that debate for the next century but it won’t matter because currently there are rules banning these substances and Ryan Braun has tested positive so he must face his punishment. Unlucky? Maybe. Unfortunate? Yes. Tragic for the game? Definitely.
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
According to Foxsports.com’s Ken Rosenthal:
“To clarify on Braun: What he did triggered violation of
#MLB steroid-testing policy. Source says substance was prohibited, but not PED.”
As I understand this, it appears that Braun had something in his system that caused elevated testosterone levels but was not a performance enhancer. But the substance is still a banned substance and he is still subject to disciplinary action.
There is obviously still a lot left to un-pack when it comes to this story.
