The Jewish Daily Forward: Can Ryan Braun Repent Enough To Win Back Jewish Fans?

Dunno…I’m still stuck on the misspelling of Tsitouris.

There are two things that every Jewish baseball fan knows about Ryan Braun.

First, the Milwaukee Brewer leftfielder is the best Jewish ballplayer in the majors today. Second, as a result of his self-inflicted tsoris, Braun faces the gargantuan challenge of winning back his fans when he returns to baseball next spring, following his 65-game suspension this past season for using banned performance-enhancing drugs.

“It’s hard to forgive someone who out and out lies and then gets caught,” said Ari Fleischer, who served as the White House press secretary for George W. Bush. He now heads Ari Fleischer Sports Communications.

Still, if there is any group that can forgive the new Hebrew Hammer, it’s the Jewish community, said Jason Miller, a Detroit rabbi and blogger who comments frequently on Jewish issues.

“We do value repentance so highly,” said Miller who is a member of the board of directors of the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation. “We will be willing to give him a second chance.”

...Fleischer stressed the importance of Braun coming forward in person to acknowledge his wrongdoing. But he expressed doubts as to whether the ballplayer would be able to do so in a convincing manner.

“He has to be contrite and, if possible, be sincere and really mean it,” Fleischer said. ”I don’t know if he’s capable of doing that.”

But Fleischer emphasized that he did not think Braun’s woes should be viewed as a Jewish issue. “I wanted to say that in a Jewish paper,” Fleischer said.

Then there is the question of how Braun — who is, after all, a ballplayer — will perform on the field. This will no doubt influence the fans.

“He’ll let his bat do the talking,” Fleischer said.