Ryan Braun, who was voted the “Most Valuable Player” in the MLB’s National League last season, has successfully appealed a positive drug test. His lawyers have convinced the arbitrator panel in the case that the person who collected the sample did not collect it properly.
The appeal panel consisted of three members and the final vote was 2-1 in favor of Braun. Shyam Das, who has been an arbitrator for a long time, was the deciding vote. By winning his appeal, Braun now avoids a 50 game suspension that would have started at the beginning of this season.
Bud Selig, the Commission of the MLB, surely feels the decision is a blow to professional sports. He has said that the MLB has tried to improve the testing system for banned substances so that there is not another steroid era in the future. With this ruling, though, there are other players, their lawyers, and their agents who will now battle positive test results even more aggressively in the future.
There have been 12 players that have appealed a positive drug test in the MLB. None of the appeals have been found in favor of the player. However, Braun’s attorney was the first to base his appeal on when the sample was delivered to FedEx to be shipped off to the laboratory.
The person who took the sample said that there was no FedEx center that was open after the test was taken. He took the sample home and put it in a refrigerator for two days until he could ship it off. It was the delay that allowed lawyers to question the sample’s integrity.
Braun issued a statement in which he said that the decision relieved and pleased him. He said that he has passed 25 drug tests throughout his career. That includes at least three that he took in the last year.
