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 ...
This is the right decision. There are millions of dollars and a man’s livelihood on the line, here. Having a proper handling procedure and chain-of-custody is not too much to ask.
If I were a player, I would want to see that sample taken, labeled, duplicated, blinded, packaged and in the mail. The fact that this tester actally took the sample home for 48 hours is outrageous.
Without proper handling and chain-of-custody, there is no sample. MLB should just walk away from this one, and hope they don’t get taken to the cleaners in a lawsuit.
The math on Ryan Braun is simple -
Testing positive + Getting off on a technicality = Fraud
Are you sure he cheated?
Do you want somebody to be able to come to your house, take a sample from you, leave it sitting around, unsecured in his home refrigerator for two days, and then use that compromised sample to take away everything you have?
No?
Then you should be happy that Ryan Braun got off on this “technicality”.
I guess nobody thinks there’s a reason he has those bug-eyes.
There’s exactly ZERO evidence that the sample was tampered with, and it’s only a “technicality” in the eyes of the arbitrator inclined to find a “problem” where none exists.
It amounts to a fraud on the public and MLB is exactly correct to be totally outraged by a ridiculous decision.
Unsecured?
Oh right, because of the conspiracy among thoroughly-vetted MLB officials to get Ryan Braun. Just like the conspiracy among the LAPD and lab officials to frame OJ.
BTW, care to explain how Ryan Braun’s test results were 5X the normal ratio?
Fraud.
Duh . . . logic fail. Maybe he was juicing EVERY year.
Once the sport of legends, stories, and great names and personalities, it's now a vulgar game of corporate athletes separated from the fans. In the old days you could meet your heroes because of the proximity of dugouts to the field. And our heroes were Aaron, Ernie Banks, Willie Mays..and scads of greats before that. These were wondrous fellows who made the games matter, even if your team was in the second division. Today their records lay in ruins beaten by cheaters. Baseball has very links to its past and it shows.
I loved the game more than I can tell you. Listening to Scully, Enberg, Bob Prince, Ernie Harwell, Bill King, Harry Caray.... Now the broadcasts largely consist of ex-jocks who describe nothing but what is in front of them. The poetry is gone. At the stadium prices are exorbitant, the food is terrible, the memorabilia is worthless and priced in the stratosphere, and the environment has all the flavor of a chain drugstore. Baseball has fallen in quality more than any other sport.
And don't talk to me about coming out to spring training to “sit in the sun.” The teams don't bring most of their players, wear the same color uniforms when competing, and charge hideous prices. I'll sit in my back yard and save a ton of money.
It’s not good news. It’s a tecnicality. The collector kept the sample in his fridge over the weekend and was unable to account with 100% certainty to its’ safekeeping. He broke the chain of custody and the sample became inadmissable in the eyes of the arbitrator.
Had the collector done his job and delivered the sample to FedEx Braun would be sitting for 50 games.
Really?
Bob Prince
Drunk or sober? Tears in his beer? Loyalty was his honor.
Lets see what Braun has to say today. I’m a huge Braun fan and he’s never shown anything throughout his career that screams PED user. This “technicality” meme is ESPN/MLB getting ready to cover its ass over what I hope would be a defamation lawsuit by Ryan Braun.
Will Carroll (well versed in PED world) on SI has been tweeting since last night (he’s in Cancun on vacation) that this is not just a broken chain but other serious questions about how easily the Braun side was able to repeat the out of wack P/E under normal conditions. As he put it its not just chain of evidence, but science. He said he has an article that will run soon so I’m waiting to hear on that also.
One other note. Braun asked/offered to give a DNA sample to compare against the urine sample and MLB refused.
Strike the DNA thing its been retracted.
I guess we’re the homers :)
Dan Patrick show is bringing up some new info I guess:
Following this guy on twitter at moment:
https://twitter.com/#!/Mason3K
“@TSH255: On @dpshow: brought the collector in to the hearing. said it took the guy 37 seconds to state his name. Couldnt look at #Braun”
@Mason3K More notes: Urine collector is a Cubs fan. Bypassed 2 open Fed Ex locations that were open. 3rd one was closed. (More)
@Mason3K He was asked to identify Braun, and couldn’t look at him.
Good lord could you imagine if this was just a disgruntled Cubs fan...? LOL
I too enjoyed baseball at one time. I lived in Atlanta and went to the Braves games when they were so bad only about 200 of us showed up for a game. It was neat to have a run of the stadium and sit anywhere you wanted to.
They acquired Bob Horner and then I lost interest in the game. Why? Horner would not play if he had a hang nail much less anything worse. He was sent to the minors when he started having some trouble hitting. He refused to go. They let him stay. That is when I quit paying my money for cry babies like him.
This is precisely why there are strict chain of custody rules. If they become compromised, the test is invalid.
I don’t want to lose my job on a compromised urine test. I don’t want to be found guilty on an 11-1 jury vote. We have systems in place to protect the individual. At least, for now.
Per Dan Patrick - Braun also took lie detector and passed.
I’m really hoping for fireworks at the PC today. I think that Braun needs to come out guns blazing as to why he’s stood beside the BS since the start.
Noon Milwaukee time being streamed on MLB.com and of course by probably every radio station here in WI :)
It’s baseball. They never wanted steroids to be against the rules in the first place.
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