Braun has won his appeal and will not be suspended 50 games. I guess he wasn’t guilty? Right. When we first heard that Braun had tested positive for PED we were all shocked. At first glance, it doesn’t look like Braun is on any type of PED. He seems to improve as a player every year and there is no change in his body. Personally, I think he should have lost the case. However, I’m not as disappointed with the results as I am with the process and the situation.
The MLB allows its players to appeal cases like these. I completely agree with this. Every player has the right to fight his case because the possibility of error does exist. However, the MLB and Players Association agreed that a third-party would look over these cases. I don’t agree with this. This process allows room for a lot of bias and error. Just my opinion. MLB players are high-profile people. Arbitrators can be fans….right…Now im not saying the arbitrator was a Braun fan, but things like this could happen. Anyways, the MLB should allow the players to appeal, but the MLB should investigate the case further in-house.
Another problem I had with this situation is how publicized it was made. Usually when we hear a player was caught using PED’s is after they have investigated the situation and there is no doubt. In this case, we knew about Braun before there was any final results. This publicity could have also had an effect on the decision, especially when a third-party handled it.
The MLB should investigate how information like this was leaked. This decision does not look good for the MLB. The whole situation seems shady. Braun is a very high-profile player. He is one of the most popular players in the MLB. Had Braun been found guilty, this would have been a huge blow to baseball. It would have made us, the fans, wonder if there are any clean players out there.I believe if Braun is found guilty, the MLB sends a message to every player. (No one will get away with using PED’s) Now the MLB might have lost leverage.
So there it is. In a way, I’m glad Braun was found innocent. It keeps the hope that the steroid era is behind us, alive. I believe that the MLB did what they think was best for baseball. However, this case might change the way they do work. For baseballs sake, as for our sake, as fans, lets hope we no longer have to hear about PED’s. Now that this is behind us, Play Ball!
