Ryan Braun addresses media for first time since PED suspension
Ryan Braun has 211 home runs in seven big league seasons. (Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)
Ryan Braun's first public appearance since his 65-game suspension for performance-enhancing drug use came on Wednesday, as the Brewers outfielder helped take food donations near Miller Park.
When he was done, Braun stood in front of a bank of microphones and took questions from the media. While he said a lot, he disclosed very little, though he did say he was remorseful.
The entirety of the press conference was transcribed by Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and can be read here.
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"Obviously I’ve been through a lot and as I expressed in my statement that I felt was pretty lengthy and specific," Braun said. "I got into a lot of details at that point. I’m not really going to go into any further details. I’m deeply remorseful about what happened. I wish I had the ability to go back and change things and do things a lot differently, but unfortunately I can’t do that. All I can do is move on and try to do everything in my power to earn back peoples’ trust and respect and support. I don’t anticipate being able to earn back everybody’s support, but I certainly intend to do everything in my power to do that and I won’t stop trying."
When asked why target="_blank">he lied during a press conference discussing winning his appeal of PED use in 2012, calling himself "a victim of a failed process," Braun said "it was a big mistake."
"I wish that I hadn’t done the press conference. It was a big mistake," he said. "I deeply regret having done it, and a lot of the things that I said that day. But again, all I can do is move forward, and in an effort to do that I’m not going to get into too many specifics. I really don’t think that it does anything too positive or productive for me, the team, the game of baseball or anybody else. And in an effort to move forward, I’m not going to discuss that subject."
Braun, the 2011 NL MVP who turned 30 on Nov. 17, hit .298 with nine home runs and 38 RBIs in 61 games this past season after a string of five years with at least 25 home runs and 103 RBIs.
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