Posted on 02/24/2012 1:44:59 AM PST by jellybean
National League MVP Ryan Braun's 50-game suspension was overturned Thursday by baseball arbitrator Shyam Das, the first time a baseball player successfully challenged a drug-related penalty in a grievance.
The decision was announced Thursday by the Major League Baseball Players Association, one day before the 28-year-old outfielder was due to report to spring training with the Milwaukee Brewers.
***snip***
During the hearing, Braun's side challenged the chain of custody from the time the urine sample was collected by Comprehensive Drug Testing Inc. to when it was sent, nearly 48 hours later, to a World Anti-Doping Agency-certified laboratory in Montreal, two people familiar with the case said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because what took place in the hearing is supposed to be confidential.
The sample was collected on Oct. 1, a Saturday and the day the Brewers opened the NL playoffs. The collector did not send the sample to the laboratory until Monday, thinking it would be more secure at home than at a Federal Express office during the weekend.
Baseball's drug agreement states that "absent unusual circumstances, the specimens should be sent by FedEx to the laboratory on the same day they are collected."
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Ping!
Good news that a guy gets away with cheating?
Is that we are in this country now?
....in the glove fits, hide it in bulls***!
in=if....(coffee’s brewing)
Sorry not buying it....chain of custody in drug testing has very firm and hard rules...which the tester should know or he's incomptent or lazy (both)?
When they started discussing the security aspects of this, and how it “sat around” before being handed to FEDEX....it brought back a Air Force episode from the mid-1980s.
We had a weather operations NCO on base who was identified for drug usage by the random tests. No one believed that she was a drug user, but the AF rule was....you get kicked out if identified by their test. She hires a lawyer and a private detective.
The private detective arrives at the base and makes his first stop at 7AM to the clinic on base....where Airman Snuffy was the only lab guy at 7AM on duty. The lab was the folks responsible for picking up the samples at the meeting point, and shipping them back to the Air Force drug testing lab.
It was a funny thing....the private detective noticed Airman Snuffy had red eyeballs and all the physical signs of smoking some weed. The private detective waited till the officer arrived....asked some questions, and then asked who could have handled the drug cups....and of course, Airman Snuffy was a person who would have the responsibility of putting these into the box to ship.
There was a short meeting then....where the NCO’s lawyer met with the Air Force Commander there, and identified the clinic airman and the circumstances identified. This would have turned into a three-ring circus because across the whole Air Force....they were all doing the same thing....so there was this agreement made up. The NCO accused in this case....had the charges dropped and all the fees incurred in the hiring of the private detective and lawyer....were paid by the Air Force. Weeks later, the clinic was relieved of all responsibility of handling the specimen cups. Everything had to be delivered by a team of at least two witnesses, to a overnight shipping point, and immediately released that day.
The blunt truth is that if allow the cups to sit around, there is always the potential for some idiot to add something to the cup or swap it with another cup. Course, I will say this....if Braun’s home-run pace drops by 50 percent this season....most everyone will say that he quit using something.
From the Milwuakee Journal Sentinel
Braun’s positive test reportedly included “insanely high levels” of testosterone, by far the most ever detected in a player. He requested an independent drug test a few weeks after testing positive, which was clean, but it was not authorized nor recognized as exculpatory by MLB.***snip***
A source familiar with MLB’s drug policy indicated there were only a few ways to overturn a positive test, such as proving a chain-of-custody issue, a flaw in the collection process or providing proof that the player’s team signed off on the substance. Otherwise, the “strict liability” aspect of the policy makes it extremely difficult to exonerate a player.
Apparently you didn't read the article. This is a statement from MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred:
"It has always been Major League Baseball's position that no matter who tests positive, we will exhaust all avenues in pursuit of the appropriate discipline. We have been true to that position in every instance, because baseball fans deserve nothing less," Manfred said. "As a part of our drug testing program, the commissioner's office and the players' association agreed to a neutral third-party review for instances that are under dispute. While we have always respected that process, Major League Baseball vehemently disagrees with the decision rendered today by arbitrator Shyam Das."His stats for 2011 aren't much different than any previous year.
And yes I think it’s great that an innocent man’s reputation wasn’t destroyed by some goofball mishandling a urine sample!
Really? What base? What year? Do you remember her name? I was in AF weather for 20 years and it's a very small AFSC...maybe I knew her.
Thanks for the anecdote. Everyone is ready to proclaim him guilty even though the sample was mishandled. Perhaps the reason he puts up such high numbers is because he’s an outstanding player.
If anyone needs drugs it is the fans who watch this boring sport, not the players. ;-)
I agree I just don't know which drug would work.
If it was a drug with speed in it I wouldn't hang around and watch it. I would go to the local mall and watch eye candy.
If it had downers it would put me to sleep faster than just watching the stupid game without drugs or beer.
Good News? Are you brain dead!?!
The bum gets off on a technicality! Ahh, the unions...ain't they great?
The ‘mid-80s’...are you kidding me. Ya thinks things maybe a ‘little’ more advanced 30 years later?
He’s maintained his innocence the whole time and he doesnt look like someone who has been juicing. So if he really didnt, then it is good news.
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