Per ESPN: Braun Tests Positive, May Face 50 Game Suspension (Part 2)

[homer]

pebadger = performance enhancing badger??????

[pebadger]

Let's assume a player takes a question to MLB about a given prescription medication before he starts taking it. What in the JDA imposes any obligation on MLB to provide a definitive answer to the question of whether the drug is OK?

 

There is nothing in the JDA that says MLB has to give an answer. Indeed, they aren't really equipped to give an answer. They aren't in the business of "approving" drugs for use. They don't do investigative chemistry or original science. All they do is collect urine samples and send those samples out for tests. The only thing that the JDA does is enumerate (non-exhaustively) a list of what is banned and establish the procedures and punishments for using something that is banned.

 

The closest MLB comes to "approving" a drug for use is the "therapeutic use exemption" process, but that process provides no privacy to the player at all. In fact, it requires him to fully waive his privacy with respect to the need to take the medication. A TUE must be issued to a specific player given his specific medical condition and treatment program, as supported by documentation from the physician, and it covers only a specific substance. If a specific drug is not on the list, why would a player even apply for a TUE? And why would MLB grant a TUE for something that is not believed to be banned? The moment they issue a TUE for something not on their list is the moment they will begin to be flooded with TUE requests for everything and anything not specifically on the list by players and agents who "just want to be sure". That's simply not what MLB wants and it's not going to happen.

 

The system is designed to put a great burden on the player to "stay clean". Given that virtually exclusive responsibility, there has to be some point at which justice demands, in cases of honest dispute, that a player not be punished for an inadvertent technical violation of the JDA if that violation could not be foreseen after taking reasonable efforts to avoid a violation.

[CheezWizHed]

Its becoming clear that the MLB should just reverse course and allow players to use all the PEDs they want. Thus, the "jocks" will become dependent on the "nerds". MLB teams will draft "nerds" in the draft, since now its not the tools you have, but the tools we can formulate to inject into you. Forget about 60 yd dashes, arm strength, or bat speed, IQ will be the 6th and most important tool! Cute girls in the stands will wear lab coats and carry signs that say "Marry me, Eugene!"

 

Thus completing the ultimate Revenge of the Nerds!

[jazzytrav]

I think it is the players responsibility to have someone (himself? his agent? his lawyer? his doctor?) contact MLB before taking any medication to make sure it is not going to get him suspended. It is just too stupid not to do this. Honestly, Braun just risked 2 million bucks doing this, plus whatever it might cost him in endorsements.

So after witnessing this fiasco, you would trust MLB to keep your potentially embarrassing medications confidential?

[jeffy]

...and if this is the reason, he's not just coming out and saying "I have Graves disease and my treatment for this caused the failed test" because???

Because neither side can say anything.

 

Let's make that "I have Graves' disease for which I am taking X". Then he is not stating anything about MLB testing, he is merely choosing to reveal a medical condition, which is not prohibited by anything. So now, given that Ryan Braun is a person who is very concerned about his public image, his reason for not revealing that he has this disease is...???

[pebadger]

There is nothing to gain by revealing personal medical information before the conclusion of the case.

 

If he wins the appeal, he will have revealed nothing of a personal nature and avoided suspension.

 

If he loses the appeal, he then has a decision to make (assuming the case has anything to do with a personal medical issue). Reveal his side of the story to the public in hopes of shedding light on the suspension, or just take the suspension and retain privacy (provided somebody hasn't already leaked the particulars of his story when he makes his argument on the appeal).

[splitterpfj]

Does anyone still want to argue on behalf of the good people who first reported this story?

 

If you still can't see why confidentiality is a big deal, and why major media outlets have absolutely no business reporting partial truths, speculation, or just plain inaccurate "tips"...so far, we've got STDs, thyroid disease, and "He's been cheating since college, and I know a guy who knows a guy who knows it", among other things.

 

The truth is...no one reading this knows what Braun tested positive for, and no one here can even say with certainty that he did have synthetic testosterone in his system. Braun has been convicted of nothing. Braun has been suspended for nothing...and just look at the circus.

 

If you believe Braun is guilty because someone reported that he had synthetic T in his body, then you must also be believe that he simultaneously did and did not test positive for a PED, and that he's got a medical condition which is at the root of all of this...because those things have been reported too.

 

Thank you to the "journalists" who spewed out fractions of an actual story...PT Barnum had nothing on you.

[monty57]

The closest MLB comes to "approving" a drug for use is the "therapeutic use exemption" process, but that process provides no privacy to the player at all. In fact, it requires him to fully waive his privacy with respect to the need to take the medication. A TUE must be issued to a specific player given his specific medical condition and treatment program, as supported by documentation from the physician, and it covers only a specific substance. If a specific drug is not on the list, why would a player even apply for a TUE? And why would MLB grant a TUE for something that is not believed to be banned? The moment they issue a TUE for something not on their list is the moment they will begin to be flooded with TUE requests for everything and anything not specifically on the list by players and agents who "just want to be sure". That's simply not what MLB wants and it's not going to happen.

 

I could see players pulling the Bill Bellicheck move, where he got in trouble with the NFL for not reporting an injury, so now he puts nearly every player on his roster on the injured list as "probable" every week.

 

If Braun is found to have taken something which a doctor gave him the green light on, and is suspended for not telling MLB about it, the players union should tell the players to send a request to MLB every time they take an aspirin for a headache or drink some Gatorade. If the system is as stacked against the players as you have illustrated throughout this thread, then maybe getting 1,000 requests a day from players will force the MLB to look a little closer at the entire process.

[Baldkin]

I think it is the players responsibility to have someone (himself? his agent? his lawyer? his doctor?) contact MLB before taking any medication to make sure it is not going to get him suspended. It is just too stupid not to do this. Honestly, Braun just risked 2 million bucks doing this, plus whatever it might cost him in endorsements.

So after witnessing this fiasco, you would trust MLB to keep your potentially embarrassing medications confidential?

There is no reason his agent or his lawyer or his doctor could not have done this anonymously.

[bkroppy2]

If Braun has graves disease and has been taking medication for it all along wouldnt he have failed a test earlier in his career. I just don't buy the graves disease theory

[RyDogg66]

The Graves disease theory is ridiculous, come on people.

[The Truth]

pebadger = performance enhancing badger??????

There is no reason to bring JJ Watt into this conversation!

 

(wait, did I say that!)

[endaround]

Does anyone still want to argue on behalf of the good people who first reported this story?

 

If you still can't see why confidentiality is a big deal, and why major media outlets have absolutely no business reporting partial truths, speculation, or just plain inaccurate "tips"...so far, we've got STDs, thyroid disease, and "He's been cheating since college, and I know a guy who knows a guy who knows it", among other things.

 

The truth is...no one reading this knows what Braun tested positive for, and no one here can even say with certainty that he did have synthetic testosterone in his system. Braun has been convicted of nothing. Braun has been suspended for nothing...and just look at the circus.

 

If you believe Braun is guilty because someone reported that he had synthetic T in his body, then you must also be believe that he simultaneously did and did not test positive for a PED, and that he's got a medical condition which is at the root of all of this...because those things have been reported too.

 

Thank you to the "journalists" who spewed out fractions of an actual story...PT Barnum had nothing on you.

Actually everyone here now knows what Braun tested positive for, something that wouldn't have happened otherwise. The media did nothing wrong save maybe a headline on ESPN.com. A MLB or lab source revealed a test, ESPN got a solid second source, ran the story and the Braun side confirmed it. Now it isn't the full story just like all the crime reporting isn't the full story, but compared to other things they've done in the past ESPN has handled this correctly.

[Patrick425]

Getting a little tired of TMJ4 (Channel in Milwaukee for those of you not living in the area) and how they tease about Braun stories. Last night before the 10pm news they come on with a teaser and one of the things they say is something like "Breaking news on Ryan Braun. Former teammates standing up for him." So, about 10 minutes into the news they have about a 30 second clip of Craig Counsell just saying things like, "can't judge until you know all the facts" and "I support him". This is "breaking news"??

 

They did this earlier this week when the TMZ report came out that basically stated the "medicinal" report that had already been kind of circulating.

[Nottso]

I can understand the TMZ thing. Not everyone has Internet access as hard as that is to believe sometimes.

[RightFieldCoder]

They also have "news" items in their morning shows about new apps that are available and how to use them.

 

It's possible he takes drugs for some condition. He might not have tested positive before or after because it's

1) a new drug that just came out he just switched to and it only effects you the first time you take it

2) it only effects the system immediately after taking it and he had to take the test right after taking it

[Patrick425]

They also have "news" items in their morning shows about new apps that are available and how to use them.

I understand that..that's more of a consumer information thing. But they seriously teased the Counsell comments as "Breaking news" or they may have said "New news". Whatever they said it made it sound like there were some new important "revelations" kind of thing. It kind of reminded me of the old SNL weekend update with Chevy Chase where he would say "This just in, Generalíssimo Francisco Franco is still dead".

[RockCoCougars]

Isn't everything 'Breaking News' these days? Especially with no snowstorms yet and the Packers accounting for roughly a third of the local news broadcasts.

[Invader3K]

Well, they have to run something between the Dirty Dining and Speedbusters segments (those might not be TMJ4, but it seems like every news channel has "news" segments like that these days).

[trwi7]

Dirty Dining and Speedbusters are TMJ4.

[Invader3K]

Dirty Dining and Speedbusters are TMJ4.

That's what I thought, but I couldn't remember for sure. I don't watch a lot of television "news", because most of it is terrible and doesn't tell me anything I can't read earlier on Twitter or web sites.

[RockCoCougars]

Dirty Dining and Speedbusters are TMJ4.

That's what I thought, but I couldn't remember for sure. I don't watch a lot of television "news", because most of it is terrible and doesn't tell me anything I can't read earlier on Twitter or web sites.

Come on, you can't tell me that you aren't eagerly awaiting the first pre-'Storm of the Century" report detailing how snow shovels are flying off shelves and the snow plows/salters are mobilized. Not even mentioning the spellbinding 'brunt of the storm' remote broadcasts from the interstate frontage roads. Where else would we get the info that 'traffic is moving remarkably well'- who'd have thunk that a 5" snow storm wouldn't paralyze an entire region?

[1992casey]

You know that whatever these channels are doing is working when people refer to them by their slogans (TMJ4) instead of Channel 4 or WTMJ.

[RightFieldCoder]

I watch every morning because there isn't much else to watch at 5am while getting ready for work. I can also pay only half attention while doing other things and still get everything important.

 

Dirty Dining can be thought of as news, albeit lazy news. It takes public records and informs people of the results of government inspections. It provides a small benefit to the public.

 

Speedbusters is not news. "My dog got hit by a car". "The police should spend all of their time on this road to monitor speed limits because this is the only road in Milwaukee where people speed". "This is the worst problem going on right now". I know speeding is a problem, but they act like they are finding the only spots where speeding happens.

 

It was funny watching them talk about Texas's latest snow storm. The weather guy had a sad look on his face. You could tell he wished it had hit here so he could go nuts about it.

[Patrick425]

You know that whatever these channels are doing is working when people refer to them by their slogans (TMJ4) instead of Channel 4 or WTMJ.

I say TMJ4, because I don't want to confuse it with WTMJ the radio station and also Channel 4 just sound too generic. There are Channel 4's all over the country.