Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun has been suspended without pay for the remainder of the 2013 season for a violation of MLB’s drug policy in the wake of the league’s investigation into the anti-aging clinic Biogenesis. Until Monday, Braun had consistently denied taking any performance-enhancing drugs — both in relation to the Biogenesis scandal and after his successfully appealed failed test before the 2012 campaign.
But the 2011 MVP apologized to his team and his fans in a statement, saying, “I realize now that I have made some mistakes. I am willing to accept the consequences of those actions. This situation has taken a toll on me and my entire family, and it is has been a distraction to my teammates and the Brewers organization.”
There’ll be plenty of hand-wringing over the murky morality of performance-enhancing drugs elsewhere, and plenty of speculation about more suspensions to come. But what does Braun’s 2013 suspension — after such vehement denials — say about Ryan Braun?
Here’s what he said at a press conference upon his arrival to spring training in February, 2012:
If I had done this intentionally or unintentionally, I’d be the first one to step up and say I did it. By no means am I perfect, but if I’ve ever made any mistakes in my life, I’ve taken responsibility for my actions. I truly believe in my heart and I would bet my life that this substance never entered my body at any point.
This February, Braun told USA TODAY Sports that he had “nothing to hide” about his connection with Biogenesis, claiming that his lawyers used Tony Bosch as a consultant during his appeal.
So that… that just wasn’t true.
How could someone with so much to lose make such definitive public statements that he knew were lies? Is Braun stupid, or does he take us for stupid, or is he so thoroughly unaccustomed to failing anything that he powered forward without even considering the way his denials would look if and when they proved false?
Braun has been a great player across his career. He’s a five-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year and MVP. As such, the Brewers gave him a lengthy, expensive contract extension in 2008 then added five more years and over $100 million more dollars on top of that in 2011.
Think about that for a second: Only after the Brewers promised him nine figures did Braun first test positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
Remember that every time you’re about to argue that players take steroids to earn more money. It’s obviously more complex than that, and maybe more troubling. Something about Ryan Braun needed to risk embarrassment — not to mention financial loss — in the name of playing baseball better even after he was already promised a lifetime’s worth of riches for playing baseball.
How does that happen? He was already red-flagged by the league, when he could have played out the next seven seasons clean with no financial repercussions.
It seems crazy, or at least perplexing, and something much more complicated than the black-and-white, good-and-evil takes we’ll inevitably hear in the coming days.
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