Corruption in Drug Testing

Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers has had his fifty game suspension for use of performance enhancing drugs overturned. Apparently, protocols for handling of samples were not followed causing MLB to void the suspension. The sample taker, Dino Laurenzi, Jr., kept Braun's specimen in his home refrigerator instead of turning it over to FedEx as required by Baseball's labor agreement. Last week, Eric Davis, co-host of The Drive on 95.7 The Game, proclaimed that Braun's test was dirty and that he got off on a technicality.

There are reasons for technicalities. Human beings are imperfect and subject to mistakes and corruption. In his column in the San Francisco Chronicle, Scott Ostler parodies the late defense attorney, Johnnie Cochran, “'If you don't ship the pee, he must go free.'”

This reference to the O.J. Simpson case was fitting. Setting aside the questions of O.J.'s guilt or innocence, it was at least demonstrated if not proved that Los Angeles Police detectives planted blood evidence around his property. A technician took a blood sample from Simpson and did not turn it in immediately. A detective took blood samples off a fence that DNA testing showed to be Simpson's. Additional testing by the defense showed that the sample contained a preservative that does not occur in the human body. A reasonable conclusion was that the detective had taken some of the blood drawn from O.J. and planted it on the fence.

The point is that Eric Davis can not say for certain that Ryan Bruan's test is dirty. The state of his test is unknown because procedures and protocols are not followed. Ryan Braun says he does not use PEDs and volunteers for a DNA test. He is saying that somehow the specimen he gives is traded for another contaminated one.

Now, what are the reasons that Mr. Laurenzi, or someone else, might substitute for Mr. Braun's specimen? Money and blackmail are the most obvious answers. It is possible that nefarious individuals are threatening innocent ballplayers with substitution of dirty tests for clean ones or offering, for a price, the substitution of clean samples for contaminated ones. Maybe the ballplayers are somehow setting up MLB by managing to substitute dirty tests for clean ones of supposedly innocent players resulting in the discrediting of the program. The players may then be able to resume using steroids without interference. Maybe MLB and certain players are in cahoots, because the steroid era was certainly beneficial for baseball. The preceding scenarios are speculation and examples and there is no implication that anyone acts improperly. It is also speculation to say that Ryan Braun's has a positive test. We just do not know.