N.Y. TIMES
Three years after Bud Selig, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, declared that the so-called steroid era “is clearly a thing of the past,” the league finds itself confronted by a persistent doping problem similar to what has crippled sports like cycling and track and field.
The latest baseball star turned culprit: Ryan Braun, the Milwaukee Brewers slugger in the prime of his career and winner of the National League’s Most Valuable Player award in 2011. The league announced Monday that he had been suspended for the remainder of the season — 65 games — for violating baseball’s antidoping code.
Braun, 29, failed a drug test in 2011 but avoided punishment on appeal. This time, he was ensnared in Major League Baseball’s sweeping investigation of an anti-aging clinic in South Florida that baseball officials believe distributed performance-enhancing drugs. His punishment raises the specter of suspensions for more than a dozen other players who have been connected to the clinic, including Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees.
Braun, who will forfeit nearly half of his $8.5 million salary this season, said in a statement issued by the league that he would not contest the suspension...Braun’s hitting prowess enabled him to earn a contract with the Brewers that runs through 2020 and totals more than $145 million.
Three of the top track sprinters in the world, including the American Tyson Gay, recently revealed that they had tested positive for banned substances, the latest in a long line of doping violations in that sport. The Tour de France, professional cycling’s showcase event, ended on Sunday under a cloud of suspicion because of revelations this year of an elaborate doping program conducted over several years by Lance Armstrong, who won the Tour seven times.
Baseball’s investigators, working on the orders of Selig, have been conducting the aggressive inquiry into the clinic, Biogenesis, an effort that has included the buying of documents and the filing of lawsuits against people close to the clinic. Baseball officials ultimately gained the cooperation of Anthony Bosch, who ran Biogenesis.
Braun is among several prominent major leaguers who have been linked to Biogenesis by news reports. Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera of the Toronto Blue Jays and four players on last week’s All-Star Game rosters — Everth Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, Nelson Cruz and Jhonny Peralta — were also reportedly connected to the clinic.
Rodriguez and several players linked to Biogenesis have denied any wrongdoing. (Rodriguez’s latest attempt to rejoin the Yankees has been hindered by a quadriceps injury.)
The investigation appears to be nearing its end, setting up the potential for more suspensions. Any punishments would be subject to appeals and potential arbitration.
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The league’s statement and Braun’s comments did not reveal what Braun had done to violate the drug program. His willingness to accept his suspension, rather than fight it, suggested that baseball’s investigation had turned up strong evidence against him. Major League Baseball is not expected to make the evidence public.
Officials for the league and the players union commended Braun for agreeing to the suspension.