Ryan Braun Wins Appeal of Drug Ban
Image by getty images
?Hammer? Is Back: Ryan Braun, the first Jewish most valuable player in 50 years, won his appeal of a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs. Image by getty images
National League Most Valuable Player Ryan Braun won his appeal of a suspension imposed after he allegedly failed a test for performance-enhancing drugs, the baseball players union announced Thursday.
The Milwaukee Brewers slugger, the first Jewish MVP in a half-century, became the first baseball player ever to successfully appeal a positive drug test.
“I am very pleased and relieved by today’s decision,” Braun said in a statement, ESPN reported. “It is the first step in restoring my good name and reputation. We were able to get through this because I am innocent and the truth is on our side.
“I have been an open book, willing to share details from every aspect of my life as part of this investigation, because I have nothing to hide,” added Braun, 28. “I have passed over 25 drug tests in my career, including at least three in the past year.”
Braun, who was named to the Forward 50 list of influential Jews for 2011, would have been suspended for 50 games.
He tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone, usually considered a telltale sign of performance-enhancing drugs. An arbitration panel ruled 2-1 in his favor, without giving any reasoning.
Braun hit .312 with 33 homers and 111 RBIs last year and led Milwaukee to the National League championship series.
Braun, whose father’s family is Jewish, did not grow up in an observant Jewish home but has enthusiastically embraced his jewish roots.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
