The Elephant in the Room

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun won the 2011 NL MVP in a tight race against LA Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp just a few weeks ago. At the time, no one really complained over the selection, stating that the award really could have gone either way and could potentially end up as a tie. Braun was widely viewed as a heavy favorite by the East Coast media, while those who had actually seen Kemp's play argued that he should win the award despite being on a bad team; the true definition of valuable player.


This past weekend however, it was announced that Ryan Braun had failed a PED drug test. Braun's test revealed elevated testosterone levels and was sent to a European lab for further results. This 2nd test revealed that Braun had synthetic testosterone in his system, enough evidence for MLB to issue a 50-game suspension. To make matters worse, Braun's positive drug test had its results known to him 2 months before he was announced as the NL MVP.


This is a disgrace. Ryan Braun is (supposedly) part of the post-steroids era, having first played after MLB stepped up its drug testing methods. He knew exactly what will and won't be identified on a drug test and that MLB will not being testing for HGH until 2012, so why go for the synthetic testosterone that most have viewed as causing painfully obvious changes i.e. Barry Bonds' head?


This news comes at a really bad time for American sports as well. Baseball has apparently not learned to step away from steroids, basketball is being ruined by a corrupt commissioner and power-hungry owners from small markets, football is being fundamentally changed by increased penalties for hard hits, and hockey's biggest star has been sidelined for almost an entire year after suffering multiple concussions. To make matters worse for the management and owners of the Big Four, soccer is getting increased attendance and viewership, to the point where the average attendance of an MLS game is actually higher than that of an NHL or NBA game.


Soccer won't even become the #4 sport in the US and Canada in the foreseeable future, but it's clear that each of the four major sports has its own problems that may not be fixed immediately.