The suspension of Ryan Braun hit the airwaves yesterday and rocked the baseball
world. He has admitted to PED use and will not play for the rest of the season.
The suspension is officially 65 games.
Braun tried the Lance Armstrong
tactic of denying use and throwing everyone he could under the bus to keep his
name clean. Like Armstrong, his lies finally caught up to him when Anthony
Bosch, the founder of Biogenesis (an anti-aging clinic), agreed to cooperate
with an MLB investigation.
Many are linking Braun to Human Growth Hormone,
which has been illegal in the MLB since 2005. This is the same drug that Andy
Pettitte admitted to taking in 2002 while rehabbing from an elbow injury. He
said he only took it for two days but we all know it was longer than that.
However, in 2013 nobody even remembers Pettitte’s admission.
Braun needs to
have a sit down with Pettitte or at least contact him in some way to ask how to
go about this. Andy Pettitte’s name is synonymous with class and he will forever
be remembered as a great player. Braun would love those things attached to his
name as well, but right now he is being called Ryan Fraud and Lyin’ Ryan.
It
is going to take time, but Braun can make this all go away by doing what
Pettitte did. First and foremost, he must stay clean for the remainder of his
career. He is seeing first hand what is happening to A-Rod, but that is an
entirely different story. Since his admission in 2007, Pettitte’s name has not
been linked to PED’s in any way.
Braun needs to ignore any and all questions
about his use of PED’s. He should come out with a statement and that ends all of
the talk. Answering questions about it will only remind the public more of his
use. If he ever wants to reach Pettitte’s status, all talk ends here.
Braun
has gotten himself into a huge hole, but it’s nothing he can’t get himself out
of if he plays his cards right.

Dougie