National League MVP : Ryan Braun blames media for 'nightmare'

The National League MVP reports to spring training and declares he has been vindicated after his 50-game suspension for a positive drug test was overturned.

Saying "my name has been dragged through the mud," National League most valuable player Ryan Braun reported to spring training with the Milwaukee Brewers in Phoenix on Friday and declared he had been vindicated, a day after his 50-game suspension for a positive drug test was overturned by an arbitrator.

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Braun's teammates sat in the stands, in uniform, as he held a news conference on the field at the team's training complex. Braun said that, since what was supposed to be a confidential appeal was played out in public, "I've lived this nightmare every day for the last four months."

Braun detailed how the urine sample he provided on Oct. 1, the day the Brewers opened the playoffs, was not delivered to FedEx until Oct. 3. Baseball's drug agreement calls for samples to be delivered to FedEx on the day they are collected.

"At the end of the day the truth prevailed," he said. "I'm a victim of a process that completely broke down and failed in the way that it was applied to me in the case. As players, we're held to a standard of 100% perfection regarding the program, and everybody else associated with that program should be held to the same standard. We're a part of a process where you're 100% guilty until proven innocent. It's the opposite of the American judicial system."

Braun learned Oct. 19 his sample was positive for elevated testosterone, which he said was at a ratio that was the highest ever recorded in baseball's testing program.

ESPN reported the positive test in December.

"I tried to handle the entire situation with honor, with integrity, with class, with dignity and with professionalism because that's who I am and that's how I've always lived my life," he said. "If I had done this intentionally or unintentionally, I'd be the first one to step up and I 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 the substance never entered my body at any point."

He criticized the media for leaking the positive test, saying there had been "many inaccurate, erroneous, incomplete and fabricated stories."
 

 source: http://www.latimes.com