Ryan Braun: Forgive and Forget?

Can you support Ryan Braun? Photo credit MLB 

by Steve Painter 

It was Spring Training in 2012 when Ryan Braun held a press conference and proceeded to lie and dupe a lot of fans about his involvement with PEDS. He threw fans, MLB, and specimen collector Dino Laurenzi, Jr. under the bus. He was very believable, and I walked away from watching that believing him.

He put himself and his agenda ahead and above truth, honesty, and good character.

With Orel Hershiser, it's personal. Hershiser says, "I got to spend some time with him right after that (press conference) and we were in a golf cart together, and I said to him, I'm going to go on the air tonight and I'll support you if you tell me you didn't do it." He said, "I didn't do it."

Braun has burned a lot of bridges with his lies and his response to the suspension he got last year as a result of the Biogenesis scandal. Yes, I know, he has apologized and even had dinner with Laurenzi, and says he made a mistake. But is that enough?

Being a professional athlete carries certain responsibilities. It's not that anyone is holding the bar higher, but an athlete is frequently a role model to people, including kids. And we've had many characters in sports, both bad and good. Braun crossed a line with many people when he blamed Laurenzi, and almost destroyed that man's life. And he crossed a line with Hall of Fame voters when he decided to cheat, and was caught.

He has to face the music now, as he travels from park to park. The fans will boo him, just like Sosa and A-Rod. It will be a distraction for his team, and he will face many questions from the media.

Many pundits are asking how well he will perform without the help of PED's. He clearly has talent, it's just too bad he has soiled his reputation for the sake of performance. I hope he does well, that's just the way I was brought up. Yes, we must forgive him because that's just the right thing to do. But forget? No way.

In a perfect world, a player who had cheated would give the money back, and Braun? He should vacate the 2011 MVP trophy and it should be awarded to Matt Kemp. He should apologize to the Diamondbacks and their fans for robbing them during the 2011 playoffs, and he should just hold a press conference and allow media to ask questions, unrehearsed.

Baseball should have a zero tolerance rule for PED's and anything resembling them. That rule should ban a player from any baseball activity and purge their statistics from the record books. MLB may have the most stringent rules of any sport right now, but let's make them tougher.

Braun appeared at the Brewer's function the other day and most fans gave him a standing ovation. That is certainly their prerogative, obviously they have forgiven him. But forgive me, because I will not applaud a man that did what he did. I may forgive him, but the way in which he conducted himself, prevents me from supporting him anymore.