Major League Baseball settled its score with Ryan Braun on Tuesday, suspending the Brewers star for the remainder of the season and sending an unambiguous message that the league is committed to a hardline anti-doping policy.
Next up is Alex Rodriguez, who like Braun has been linked to Miami's now-defunct Biogenesis clinic, an apparent source of performance-enhancing drugs for more than 20 players, most of whom are expected to face discipline in the coming weeks.
Braun is the first chip to fall in baseball's historic Biogenesis probe, and his ban is likely to be seen as vindication for the commissioner's office, which tried unsuccessfully to suspend the leftfielder in 2012 after a urine sample he submitted during a playoff run showed radically elevated levels of testosterone.
"As I have acknowledged in the past, I am not perfect,” Braun said in a statement released by the league. “I realize now that I have made some mistakes. I am willing to accept the consequences of those actions. This situation has taken a toll on me and my entire family, and it is has been a distraction to my teammates and the Brewers organization.”
