Suspended Milwaukee Brewers star Ryan Braun told players around MLB prior to 2012 spring training that the man who collected his urine sample that tested positive for synthetic testosterone was anti-Semitic in an attempt to discredit him, according to Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan. Braun also accused the man, Dino Laurenzi Jr., of being a fan of the Chicago Cubs.
Ryan Braun called urine collector ‘anti-Semitic’, according to report
In an attempt to discredit the man who collected his urine sample that tested positive in 2012, Braun allegedly told other MLB stars that the collector was anti-Semitic.
Braun went to some of the biggest stars in the game in hopes of drumming up some support, including 2011 MVP runner-up Matt Kemp, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto and Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, among others. Many of the players Braun talked to reportedly believed the allegations against Laurenzi, although a person close to the collector denied the anti-Semitic claim.
The positive test on Braun’s urine in 2012 was initially going to cost the outfielder 50 games for violating the league’s drug policy, but he was let off the hook due to a chain-of-custody error during the process. Laurenzi had kept Braun’s urine sample stored in his house because there was no FedEx store close by to ship the sample in accordance with MLB rules. Despite assertions from the lab that the sample wasn’t tainted, Braun’s lawyers successfully argued that the chain of custody was broken and their client should have his suspension revoked.
Braun has since been suspended for the rest of the 2013 season due to his links to Biogenesis, a company which has provided performance-enhancing drugs to more than a dozen major league players. The Brewers star is expected to publicly come clean about his drug use in the near future.
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