Braun tests postitive for PEDs

[G&T]

I wonder if he has been doing this his whole career.

 

Do players get tested just once a year?

 

Under the MLB drug program, each player on a team’s 40-man roster, including those in the minors, is subject to at least two random drug tests each season. Some players are tested randomly beyond that, and also during the postseason, when Braun reportedly tested positive.

 

Boston herald

[Kyyle23]

Scenarios:

 

New trainer - different linament - not aware that it had PEDs in it.

 

Health Club - tried health drink - PEDs not listed in ingredients.

 

GNC guy lied to him.

 

. . .

 

 

Just thinking up Braun's excuses for him.

 

Tejada gave me b12

[NorthSideSox72]

Here's a question... I wonder if any player contracts in baseball contain out-clauses for the guaranteed money, for illegal behavior or suspensions due to breaking league rules? And further, if any teams have pushed to have contracts that null out all future guaranteed monies if a player tests positive for a PED?

 

[Balta1701]

Here's a question... I wonder if any player contracts in baseball contain out-clauses for the guaranteed money, for illegal behavior or suspensions due to breaking league rules? And further, if any teams have pushed to have contracts that null out all future guaranteed monies if a player tests positive for a PED?

I think that at this point it's pretty clear no one in baseball has that out clause. The Dodgers were probably the most likely to use it, they could have saved themselves a fortune on Manroid, for example. My guess is that the union made sure that it wasn't allowed when they agreed to the testing.

[G&T]

I think that at this point it's pretty clear no one in baseball has that out clause. The Dodgers were probably the most likely to use it, they could have saved themselves a fortune on Manroid, for example. My guess is that the union made sure that it wasn't allowed when they agreed to the testing.

 

Theoretically, you wouldn't need an out clause. All contracts formed under a CBA are subject to the rules in that CBA regardless of the language of the player's contract. Under basic contract principles this contract is likely voidable because the use of PED's is illegal and if the benefits of that use lead to the contract formation then the team (assuming their belief that Braun was clean) should be able to void the remainder of the contract. Of course, you have to prove that he was doing it at the time of contracting. Not later. Later positive tests are covered by the CBA as we already know.

 

The reason we don't see this, IMO, is threefold:

1. The union is not going to allow that without litigation which would be hellacious given the money involved and the precedent.

2. The team doesn't want the world finding out that they knew or should have known that he was on PEDs, which, by and large, is probably the case.

3. Negative perception to future players.

 

Someone else may have better information that I, but that's my stab at it.

 

 

 

[Swingandalongonetoleft]

Bummer. Braun was one of those that I found easy to root for. Can't say I'm surprised- don't know how anyone could be at this point.

 

Damn...

[Steve9347]

Braun has worked out with A-Rod. Braun worked out with Gabe Kapler last offseason.

 

Both known users, and in the latter case, a flaunter, of steroids.

 

"Come. Let me teach you power."

[G&T]

According to drug testing experts, though, passing a subsequent test is not, in and of itself, a valid defense and actually fits the pattern of some previous doping cases. US Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart has no specific knowledge of the Braun case, but says that a testosterone level that goes from normal, to high, to normal is typical of someone on a steroid cycle. "After a person stops using, the T:E ratio" -- that's the testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio, which is 1:1 in most people, and above 4:1 in positive tests -- "goes back down to normal levels, and that could be in a matter of days or hours. It depends on how much they used, how long they've been using, and their own individual metabolism." Research done by German scientists showed that one particular drug boosted a patient's T:E ratio above 80:1 before it dropped back to normal only 12 hours later.

 

SI

 

So he probably was tested very shortly after starting a cycle.

[Balta1701]

So he probably was tested very shortly after starting a cycle.

And if he'd been tested twice already this year, that kinda makes sense, as he probably wouldn't expect to be hit with a surprise test during the postseason.

[iamshack]

And if he'd been tested twice already this year, that kinda makes sense, as he probably wouldn't expect to be hit with a surprise test during the postseason.

I think testing is fairly regular though in the postseason...he shouldn't have been too surprised to be selected for testing then.

[Cali]

Guess I gotta take Braun off my list of guys I use when complaining about the White Sox inability to draft and develop super-star talent...

[Middle Buffalo]

Rather than appreciating the greatness of select players, ya lets jump on the boat and declare em cheaters.

Yeah, how callous. Thet've certainly earned our trust.

[ILMOU]

Very disappointing. Can only hope it leads to further calls for testing that has a chance to keep up with the cheating.

 

Still can't trust our beloved game, sadly.

[ptatc]

Very disappointing. Can only hope it leads to further calls for testing that has a chance to keep up with the cheating.

 

Still can't trust our beloved game, sadly.

 

The blood testing along with HGH will go a long way towards doing this. Much more difficult to cheat a blood test.

[Jordan4life_2007]

Guess I gotta take Braun off my list of guys I use when complaining about the White Sox inability to draft and develop super-star talent...

 

lol, wut?

[Balta1701]

Source: Braun tested positive for a prohibited substance, not a performance-enhancing drug. More coming on FOXSports.com -- Ken Rosenthal

 

So gonna go with GUY at the GNC told me excuse?

 

 

JeffPassan Jeff Passan

Another source said WADA lab tests B sample using IRMS -- a carbon-isotope-ratio test. Experts say false positives are almost impossible.

 

BenBadler Ben Badler

NY Daily News source on Braun's test results: "Insanely high...twice the level of the highest test ever taken.

 

effPassan Jeff Passan

Union could fight it since Braun technically tested positive during old CBA, during which major leaguers found guilty were still protected

 

JeffPassan Jeff Passan

Source also confirmed that MLB has not lost an arbitration case with PEDs.

Just to add an extra stress to this one point:

Ryan Braun's positive test for testosterone showed a level that was extremely elevated, and likely the highest that has been recorded in Major League Baseball, according to sources with knowledge of the NL MVP's test.

...

 

A source with knowledge of Braun's test result said that his MLB test was positive for a banned substance, but not a steroid or drug. Braun may argue that he ingested dietary supplements tainted with testosterone or testosterone-boosting ingredients not listed on the label. The supplements would presumably have to be very tainted to produce what sources say was his extremely high T:E ratio.

 

According to a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the process was supposed to remain confidential, when Braun learned of his positive test in October he voluntarily took another test at an independent lab that showed normal testosterone levels. Neither Braun's spokesman nor his attorney immediately returned messages asking whether Braun's voluntary test was analyzed for banned substances that might still be detectable even once the T:E ratio had dropped.

 

It is unlikely that Braun will argue, as some have speculated, that he inadvertently ingested dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA, in a dietary supplement. DHEA is converted in the body to testosterone, but is not banned by MLB. Since the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, DHEA has been legal to sell over the counter. (It can be found on plenty of labels at GNC or Vitamin Shoppe.) DHEA can elevate testosterone levels, but it has a specific metabolite that anti-doping laboratories look for, so the World Anti-Doping Association-accredited lab in Montreal, where Braun's test was analyzed after the initial high testosterone result, would have been able to tell if DHEA was the culprit.

 

Braun's voluntary test -- which showed normal testosterone levels -- came a few weeks after his positive test, and is expected to be part of his defense at arbitration. A source suggested that because Braun had passed previous tests and then passed his voluntary test, the fact that the one test produced such an extraordinarily high testosterone level may be used to suggest a problem with the testing or accidental one-time ingestion of a banned substance.

 

According to drug testing experts, though, passing a subsequent test is not, in and of itself, a valid defense and actually fits the pattern of some previous doping cases. US Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart has no specific knowledge of the Braun case, but says that a testosterone level that goes from normal, to high, to normal is typical of someone on a steroid cycle. "After a person stops using, the T:E ratio" -- that's the testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio, which is 1:1 in most people, and above 4:1 in positive tests -- "goes back down to normal levels, and that could be in a matter of days or hours. It depends on how much they used, how long they've been using, and their own individual metabolism." Research done by German scientists showed that one particular drug boosted a patient's T:E ratio above 80:1 before it dropped back to normal only 12 hours later.

 

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writ...l#ixzz1gQCBZj00

Whatever the exact details are...he had an enormous amount of a foreign, performance enhancing substance in his system at the time of a test (something that was not an amphetamine), his sample was tested several times in several different ways by MLB, and the fact that he was tested again a few weeks later pretty much establishes nothing since the body could have returned to normal by then...and he waited weeks after being required to pee in the cup, not hours.

[Steve9347]

Let's not lose sight of this fact: I've been dominating the Soxtalk Keeper League ever since I added Braun in his rookie season.

 

That is the absolute most important thing to result from this positive test. It might actually give J4L a chance at beating me.

[MexSoxFan#1]

In other news, Paulie becomes more of hero to me whenever another person is busted.

Big Jim Thome too.

[Jordan4life_2007]

Let's not lose sight of this fact: I've been dominating the Soxtalk Keeper League ever since I added Braun in his rookie season.

 

That is the absolute most important thing to result from this positive test. It might actually give J4L a chance at beating me.

 

Like with Ryan Braun's MVP, we will now have to add an asterisk to each of your last two championships in that league.

[Steve9347]

Like with Ryan Braun's MVP, we will now have to add an asterisk to each of your last two championships in that league.

Don't forget about the draft tonight.

[Jordan4life_2007]

Don't forget about the draft tonight.

 

I won't. I already have a 40 and a bucket of Pringles ready to go.

[Steve9347]

I won't. I already have a 40 and a bucket of Pringles ready to go.

Good man. I have a Goose Island variety pack.

[Milkman delivers]

Wait, Braun will definitely keep the MVP?

[southsider2k5]

Wait, Braun will definitely keep the MVP?

 

I have not seen this topic broached by any league officials. There was debate back and forth between writers, and that is all that I have seen.

[Balta1701]

I haven't seen anything to suggest that MLB has a mechanism to strip a player of an award earned while using PED's. But if you really want to be technical, the MVP is voted on what he did during the season and he only tested positive during the postseason, so they couldn't even get that accomplished.