Major League Baseball has suspended Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun without pay for the remainder of the 2013 season.
Braun will not contest the suspension, which was meted out for
"violations of the Basic Agreement and its Joint Drug Prevention and
Treatment Program," according to a statement released by MLB.
"As I have acknowledged in the past, I am not perfect," Braun said in
the statement. "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 ... has been a
distraction to my teammates and the Brewers organization.
According to an Associated Press source, 50 games of the penalty were
connected to Biogenesis. The additional 15 games stemmed from Braun's
actions during the grievance that overturned his positive test from
October 2011. The suspension will count as a first violation of the drug
program, the source told the AP.
This is not the first time Braun has run afoul of the league's
drug-testing policy -- the 29-year-old outfielder tested positive for
elevated testosterone levels in 2012. However, he successfully appealed
his 50-game suspension.
The penalty was overturned by baseball arbitrator Shyam Das after
Braun argued that the collector of his urine samples in the fall of
2011, Dino Laurenzi Jr., did not follow protocol. The case marked the
first time a baseball player has successfully challenged a drug-related
penalty in a grievance.
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