Reaction: Braun - Not Guilty but Not Innocent

This article fits under the Reaction heading of the blog.  Read more of our Reactions here.

 On Friday, Brewers superstar Ryan Braun got up to the podium and forcefully declared that “the simple truth is that [he’s] innocent.” This comes a day after the first successful appeal of a positive drug test in MLB history. The blowback from Braun’s case has been substantial. One camp insists that this is all a cover up manufactured so as not to taint the career of the reigning NL MVP. Another believes that Braun has been completely vindicated and should be viewed as a clean player from here on out. The reality probably lies somewhere in between. Braun and his representatives responded to the positive test exactly as you would expect a falsely accused individual to respond. He denied everything, he challenged the results through baseball’s appeals process, and most importantly, he won his appeal. By ruling in Braun’s favor, arbitrator Shyam Das determined that Braun was not guilty of the charges against him. That is not the same, however, as saying that Braun is innocent, as the slugger would have you believe.

Reaction: Ryan Braun Wins his Appeal

This article fits under my Reaction heading of the blog.  Read more of our Reactions here.

Back in December, just as I was starting this blog, the baseball world was stunned by a 50-game suspension levied against the Brewers Ryan Braun.  The reigning NL MVP allegedly tested positive for PED's.  I wrote my reaction here.  Being a Pirates fan, I attempted to be objective and believe I did a good job.  Personally, I took issue with how quickly Braun was crucified in the court of public opinion.  The general consensus seemed to be that Braun was guilty, even prior to him exercising his ability to appeal the suspension.  Detractors pointed out that no player had ever successfully won an appeal against the MLB.  Others called for the MVP to be stripped from Braun and given to runner-up Matt Kemp, again prior to any appeal.

Thoughts on Ryan Braun

I'm only 22 years old.  I can almost remember life before the internet.  I don't ever remember my family not owning a computer.  As such, I barely take notice of the rapidly changing landscape of the internet and social media.  I need to actually step back, and imagine seeing the landscape through the eyes of my grandparents to  understand how absolutely insane the times we live in actually are. 

In fact, that might be the most mind-blowing fact to me about the entire Ryan Braun saga; that it took over a month for the story to be leaked.  In October, Ryan Braun apparently failed a performance-enhancing drugs test.  However, that, along with the fact that Braun is appealing the impending 50-game suspension, seems to be the only set-in-stone facts that the public knows.