Time for Braun to take legal action?

On Thursday, Ryan Braun shocked the baseball world by becoming the the first player in MLB history to win an appeal over a positive drug test. Since then, we’ve learned a few more things regarding the case, such as the 44 hours in which the sample provided by Braun wasn’t protected properly, how there was a third person who got to see the sample, and that MLB “vehemently disagrees with the decision” of letting Braun off the hook.

But, now that Braun has won, we can all stop worrying about that and get back to baseball. However, there is one thing that I wouldn’t mind seeing Braun doing before everything is said and done- take legal action.

There are various people/organizations that Braun could sue. As of right now, MLB is still searching for the source that first leaked the information, and they are confident that it wasn’t the Commissioner’s Office- AKA Bud Selig and Co. (although that wouldn’t have surprised me). Signs lead me to believe that it was the son of the collector of Braun’s sample, who was the third person to see Braun’s test. Only two people are supposed to be allowed to see the test- the taker of the test (Braun, in this case), and the collector. Why the son of the collector got to see it is beyond me, but it goes against the rules of the drug testing. But, we know that Braun obviously didn’t leak the information himself, nor did the collector, so the third person- the son- must have leaked it himself, or told another person, who then would have leaked. It would have then eventually reached ESPN, who told the whole world about it, of course.

Now, these are just my assumptions, but I don’t see who else could have spread it.

Anyway, Braun is going to take legal action against somebody. And, he has a few options of who to take it against. First and foremost, there’s ESPN, who leaked the information back in December. I understand that if they get info, they’re probably going to report it, regardless of what it is. But what ticked me off was their biased position on it before we even knew very much about what had happened. A few of their reporters/analysts- Skip Bayless in particular- suggested that his MVP award be stripped. However, they all look like idiots now, and could be in a lot of trouble if Braun does decide to take legal action against them. And, as an ESPN-hater (the Braun leak was the last straw for me), I would love nothing more.

Braun could also sue Major League Baseball itself for the way the testing was set up. He mentioned in his news conference that it was “fatally flawed.” MLB then said in a statement that it isn’t “fatally flawed.” Considering that it nearly ruined his career, though, I’d say it’s pretty flawed. It also doesn’t help that MLB “vehemently disagrees” with the decision to not give Braun the suspension.

Anyway, I’d like to see Braun take legal action against somebody, because this has, for the time being, ruined his name to some people (particularly fans of other teams). I don’t want him to take it too far and let it get in the way of what’s truly important- winning baseball games. But he has a better reason to take legal action than Francisco Rodriguez.