Baseball fans woke this morning to learn that Ryan Braun won his appeal regarding testing positive on a drug test from last October. The panel ruled in a 2-1 vote that “valid questions had been raised about the manner in which the test sample was handled” according to nytimes.com. Braun is the first player to successfully appeal a positive drug test. Reportedly Braun’s sample was taken on a Friday and stored in the tester’s home refrigerator until a FedEx store was open Monday for him to ship off the sample to the proper testing facilities. This does follow protocol, but the 48 hour delay gave the panel enough doubt to rule in Braun’s favor. While there appeared to be no tampering to the sample (everything was sealed properly), 48 hours is a long time to be stored in a personal refrigerator. My question is how in the world did this happen? Why is there not a more efficient and instant way to read a drug test? Why does the sample need to be shipped off to some Canadian laboratory? Time is of the essence when it comes to ‘surprise’ testing for drugs. Some drugs are only detectable within days of use. Retesting allows too much time for a player to get the drugs out of their system.
This case will most definitely require a reevaluation of the methods in which drug test samples are handled. (Click here to read more about how drugs are detected in samples.) The NY Times reports that the MLB has already instituted a new rule requiring testers to ensure there is a 24-hour FedEx available to drop-off the sample. This is one step in the right direction, but until players & owners agree on a better way to test; these controversies will be here to stay. Ref. nytimes.com Pic Ref. inquisitr.com
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