Following the shocking suspension of Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun for the rest of the 2013, the oddest backlash came towards Green Bay Packers player Aaron Rodgers, as he previously supported the star on Twitter last year when his suspension was appealed and overturned and now the quarterback is clarifying what happened.
Rodgers was adamant about his defense of Braun back when he was originally let out of his 50-game suspension for a positive test, writing on Twitter various things about the truth, being exonerated, the MLB and ESPN and also about eating crow and giving away his salary if Braun was using and now that it appears he has, Rodgers has spoken about the situation. According to Pro Football Talk, Rodgers said to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writer Tom Silverstein that Braun looked him in the eye and told him that is was not true.
Rodgers said he was backing up his friend and wanted to support him and that it was disappointing as a friend and for Wisconsin sports fans that it turned out to not be true what he said. The two have a restaurant partnership and that may be done with in the future and that he says they are still friends for now, but when something like that happens, it needs to be evaluated. Rodgers is off the hook a bit more now, but he was as impassioned as Braun was when he originally denied the claims, so it sure did not make him look good after what transpired recently.
Some highlights included: "MLB and cable sports tried to sully the reputation of an innocent man. Picked the wrong guy to mess with. Truth will set u free #exonerated" as well as "When its guilty until proven innocent, all u need are the facts. #howsthecrowmlb" and now he is in some hot water after Braun was taken out for the rest of the season.
Rodgers had another excellent year statistically, but after running into the 49ers and quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the team had no answers as he ran for a record amount of yards in the playoffs. The team is now two seasons removed from their Super Bowl championship and Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy are ready to make the championship jump once again after going 11-5 last season. The Packers have a number of questions heading into training camp this summer and as one of the teams that held and early minicamp, they may start to develop some answers.
Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Bud Selig has made no secret of his intention to punish players to the full extent that were found cheating through the now-shut Biogenesis clinic under its joint doping program with the Players Association.
Players union chief Michael Weiner said the association would fight for players they thought were innocent or being punished too severely, but would encourage those that were guilty to accept fair punishment.
"Players that deserve suspensions, we'll try to come up with a fair suspension," Weiner, wheelchair-bound as he fights the later stages of brain cancer, told reporters before last Tuesday's All-Star game in New York.
"Players that don't deserve suspensions, we'll argue that they don't serve a suspension and I hope we have success."
Braun escaped a 50-game suspension following his 2011 National League MVP season when his positive test for elevated testosterone levels was overturned after he challenged protocols over how his urine sample was handled.
This time, the 29-year-old Milwaukee Brewers slugger took his punishment without a fight.
The suspension of the Milwaukee Brewers outfielder, which was announced in a statement by MLB on Monday, will keep Braun out of the final 65 games of the 162-game season and any potential playoff games.
MLB did not specify why Braun had been suspended, though the 29-year-old is among at least 20 players in the league who have been implicated in the Biogenesis doping scandal which is being investigated by the commissioner's office.
"As I have acknowledged in the past, I am not perfect," Braun, the NL's most valuable player in 2011, said in a statement. "I realize now that I have made some mistakes. I am willing to accept the consequences of those actions.
