This has been floating around for a few days so…..
Despite these claims, it hasn’t stopped the media from assuming he is guilty and preaching from their sanctimonious pulpit. The hot debate has been whether he should be stripped of his MVP award. Yesterday, however, gossip site Terez Owens reported that Braun could indeed be innocent because of medication he is taking for an alleged sexual transmitted disease. Since there is no cure for the alleged disease, doctors are forced to increase testosterone levels to prevent its outbreak. This is what triggered the odd result.
Later in the day, TO went on to say that sources within the Milwaukee organization told them that “Braun will be let off because he tested positive for an STD and the medication given to him by his doctor is what caused the spike. Braun and his lawyers plan to go after whoever leaked the story because of HIPAA laws.”
This, I believe, is the real story. The results of drug tests are not supposed to be public under the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program established by MLB and the Players Association in 2006. The Health Policy Advisory Committee (HPAC) notifies the Player and the Club of the positive drug test result. In theory, there are only a handful of privileged people in on the process.
So where is the leak? It can be coming from one of five places: the commissioner’s office, the Brewers, Nez Balelo and CAA Sports, the HPAC, or CDT, the company that administers the drug tests for MLB. Since the process informs the player and team about the results, logic states the leak is coming from some corners of the Brewers organization, or worse yet, the commissioner’s office. Again, we can only speculate, but logic makes this a fair assumption.
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1. Nasty Nate Posted: December 16, 2011 at 11:04 PM (#4018089)Or from Braun himself, or his agent (or someone at the agency).
I was reading about this earlier today, and it didn't exactly seem like there was a medical consensus that herpes medication would yield the results that Braun allegedly got.
I will say that "Terez Owens" is a great name for a sports gossip site. And that this,at least, is obviously true.
Incidentally one of Marvin Miller's specific objections to testing (from day one) is that he's never believed that which is supposed to stay confidential will in fact stay confidential.
Gets off. Ha.
Which would have also leaked, pun NOT intended. IF (and it may be a big if) this reason is true, and checks out, I don't think it's particularly insane that Braun may have simply not been thinking about the exemption. Getting an incurable STD of that (or any) nature is kind of traumatic, no matter how much at BTF we love to imagine Jeter's penis festering with sores and how cool we all are not to be in his shoes, ha ha ha. Or underwear.
Yeah, no kidding. Points for creativity from Braun's side at least. I mean, finally an upside to getting herpes! All the synthetic testosterone you can carry.
Would it be like one of those "chicken pox parties" that people have with their kids? Because that would be... disturbing.
Yeah, no kidding. Points for creativity from Braun's side at least. I mean, finally an upside to getting herpes! All the synthetic testosterone you can carry.
So now everybody in MLB has ADD, trying to have a kid, has herpes, and has their dentist treating them for cancer.
Ehhh, it's not that bad. Plus Braun impresses me as a fellow commando type. The ladies seem to like it.
Releasing the information at low tide of baseball interest for the year sounds like something the player's camp would prefer to do.
Would the leak of the STD results be considered much more of a "real crime" than releasing PED test results? Or are they the same level? Can someone who knows, or pretends to know, please provide me with some free legal advice on the interweb?
Regardless I patiently await the simple(x) apologies of all the sportswriters who blistered their fingers in a rush to judgement.
Is he married ?
Now my opinion of Braun as a fan is a different matter. If this STD story turns out to be true, my opinion of him will be much higher than if he deliberately cheated. But as far as punishment goes, this doesn't get him off the hook. The main reason for testing IMO is to have a level playing field so players aren't forced to risk their health to keep up. If Braun had a high testosterone level, especially during the playoffs, the field certainly wasn't level.
Is it?
I think we can all agree seeing rotoworld updates that say "Ryan Braun is day to day with herpes" is something we'd rather avoid.
Speak for yourself there.
But the initial test is for the level of testosterone, right? If the goal of taking the prescribed testosterone is just to get your testosterone levels back to normal, that shouldn't trigger a failed test, right? In which case, I don't necessarily see where a "therapeutic use exemption" makes sense. In other words, even here, doesn't this suggest that either Braun didn't suffer the lower-T side effect, so the prescribed testosterone was unnecessary, or Braun doubled up on his testosterone prescription to get the added benefit of the extra testosterone?
As I'm understanding this, I see it as an "explanation" for Braun's failed test, but I don't really see how it's a "defense" of it.
Actually, the initial test is for testosterone:epitestosterone ratio.
Or his doctor just prescribed too much. Or maybe something else that we haven't thought of yet. But my point was just that you can't take testosterone to restore your levels to 'normal' without getting a therapeutic use exemption. The cream was testosterone. Putting aside the issue of whether it was banned when Bonds allegedly used it, just imagine the sh!tstorm if it turned out that MLB's current policy didn't ban what Bonds allegedly used.
Agreed. Especially with a strict liability standard, and maybe even with one that would be more favorable to the player.
Assume this story is accurate. (Which I doubt)
So the lad is getting two treatments. One to take care of his 'personal issue' and then something else to counteract one of the side effects.
If I understand some of you correctly if the fella is provided treatment from a real doc (not a Mickey Mantle quack giving whacko injections) and things result in a positive test but is not something related to any real attempt at flouting the rules then you still throw him into solitary?
Just asking.
And again, I figure he's guilty of some nonsense. So don't be tossing out the "You are a Brewer fan so of course blah, blah" horsesh*t.
Just answer the godd*mn question.
Good question, Harvey.
And again, I figure he's guilty of some nonsense. So don't be tossing out the "You are a Brewer fan so of course blah, blah" horsesh*t.
Just answer the godd*mn question.
But you'd better watch out, or you'll be accused of defending your boyhood hero.
Julio Franco?
It's especially a problem because, as I understand it, one of the things that can inhibit your body's natural testosterone production is, yes, extensive use of steroids. That'd be like excusing drunk driving on the basis that you're an alcoholic. (Or something like that, I dunno.)
If he has a real condition and a real doctor writing a real prescription, then he's supposed to tell MLB about it. Before he flunks a drug test, not after.
Harvey's,
If he has a real condition and a real doctor writing a real prescription, then he's supposed to tell MLB about it. Before he flunks a drug test, not after.
I've always said that MLB should have a list of pre-screened and pre-approved doctors who would have exclusive authorization to prescribe any sort of drugs that may have restricted substances in them. Even assuming that Braun may very well have acted in 100% innocence, just knowing that he had to use an authorized doctor could prevent incidents like this from happening.
What's the difference?
Because otherwise he could run a real cycle for as long as he could before getting "caught" and then fall back on this excuse.
We aren't supposed to know about those things now, but we do. And that matters to Braun, it doesn't explain why it should matter regarding his punishment.
Not at all. With a TUE (which would be ######## to give anyway but whatever) he'd almost certainly have to take regularly an actual testosterone level test, and not just the T/E or the carbon isotope tests that try to detect the presence of abnormal testosterone. He'd have to stay within accepted testosterone levels and not just the ratios. By not telling anyone, you can goose the ratio test in a bunch of different ways in order to have jacked up testosterone levels and have this BS get out jail free card for when you screw up your cycle.
But if this is true, and even if he really wasn't trying to cheat, for ##### sake he should be suspended 50 games for being a moron and not telling anyone he was taking synthetic testosterone. You can't be that stupid to think that'd be cool with everyone.
Yes. I know that it sucks for players who genuinely aren't trying to circumvent the rules, but the only way you can enforce a steroid ban in any meaningful way, is with a strict liability policy. You can pretty much always make up a plausible story after the fact (tainted supplements, legit medicinal purposes etc.), that aren't verifiable, but would be enough to raise enough doubt under anything other than strict liability. You will effectively end up with no steroid ban at all.
And it really isn't hard. If you are taking medication, you run it by the MLB hotline before taking it. Hell, get your agent to do it for you. There is no excuse for not doing it.
I still think a BRAUN TAKING HERPES MEDICATION HA HA leak in the Deadspin/BTF era is a pretty decent excuse.
This strikes me as logistically impossible.
Old Hoss Radbourn.
If he had an exemption, there wouldn't have been a failed test to leak.
Strict liability. The way he did it is a violation of the rules. The way he could have done it is within the rules.
That's why they have basically centralized the system to cover for that. I.e. players go to their regular or team doctors. Upon receipt of a prescription, the player has to notify the Independent Program Administrator, and request a TUE. The IPA then consults with experts of the appropriate field, on whether the treatment suggested by the original doctor is reasonable, and a TUE should be granted.
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