Despite being suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs, Ryan Braun has successfully avoided suspension from MLB. That fact has apparently struck a nerve with several of his peers.
Braun, along with other players, is now facing the possibility of a 100-game suspension for his link to the Biogenesis clinic and, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney, there are players around the league that are hopeful there is enough evidence to kick the Brewers slugger out of baseball for good.
“They want him taken down if in fact there is evidence he used PEDs. The players have a strong sentiment about that,” Olney said as a guest on ESPN Radio’s SVP and Russillo on Wednesday. “They want him taken down so badly. Every clubhouse I go into, players are asking me about him.”
Braun failed a drug test during the 2011 playoffs but avoided suspension when he claimed his sample wasn’t handled properly. That, according to Olney, ignited a fire under others around the league.
“They were furious after he won his appeal because they thought it was ridiculous based on the information they had gotten,” Olney said. “Players were appalled about the way that he talked about the collector. … They look at him as a guy that has been a disgrace to the sport. And if in fact the evidence backs up what seems to be alleged here, they want him out of the sport.”
Braun, along with Alex Rodriguez and several others, could be suspended for his involvement in the Biogenesis clinic as soon as after the All-Star break.
Braun, the 2011 National League MVP, is hitting .304 with nine home runs and 36 RBIs this season, but he was not selected to the All-Star Game for the first time since his rookie season in 2007.
