Ryan Braun PEDs: Why NL MVP Is Doomed in Court of Public Opinion

Ryan Braun, who won the 2011 National League MVP, will never be able to restore his reputation in the court of public opinion after it was revealed that he tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. 

The test was taken in October and Braun is appealing the test, but no matter what he does, and even if he is able to prove his innocence, none of the fans or those baseball writers who think that steroids and PEDs somehow ruined the game will ever root for him again. 

There have even been calls from certain writers, like Jim Neveau of Yardbarker.com, to hold a re-vote for the MVP award that Braun won almost exactly one month ago to the day. 

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...There really is no precedent for this type of occurrence in the baseball world, so the Baseball Writer’s Association of America (BBWAA) will have a true dilemma on their hands.

Truthfully, there is only one right answer for the BBWAA to consider, and that is to hold a re-vote on the award. If the test result is upheld, there is no reason that Braun should get to hold on to the trophy without having to re-earn it in the eyes of voters with these latest developments.

It would also be inappropriate for the Association to simply give the trophy to the second-place finisher, who happened to be Los Angeles Dodgers OF Matt Kemp.

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It is sad that this is where we are in sports, particularly baseball because no one cares about steroids in football, which is another story entirely.

There has never been any kind of definitive proof that steroids or these "performance-enhancing drugs" actually do anything to help make you a better baseball player. 

But because Congress and a few uneducated baseball writers cried foul when Barry Bonds was breaking Hank Aaron's home-run record, everyone immediately jumped on the bandwagon. 

For those of you who keep an open mind, I would implore you to check out Steroids-and-Baseball.com, which provides the most in-depth and detailed information about why the whole steroid and PED myth is overblown. 

I don't expect Braun to be treated like he was before this positive test came out, because that is not how our society works. But it is a shame that more people don't want to take the time to get educated on a topic before rushing to judgment. 

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