The Milwaukee Post

July 26, 2013 • Milwaukee Post • 11 Braun is many things, but Mother Teresa he is not Suspended Brewers star lied to everyone in 2012 statement Regarding his use of PEDs: ■ Ryan Braun is a cheater. ■ Ryan Braun is a liar. ■ Ryan Braun is a snake. ■ Ryan Braun is a fraud. ■ Ryan Braun might be evil. I don't have to make the case that all of the above are accurate following his acceptance of a suspension for the remainder of the 2013 season. I will let Braun make the case. Let's go back to the spring of 2012 and his comments after an arbitrator sided with Braun and overturned his 50-game suspension. Braun was cheating, was cleared on a technicality, and had the following comments (I emphasize, he was cheating): "If I had done this intentionally or unin- tentionally I'd be the first one to step up and , say 'I did it.' By no means am I perfect, but if , I've ever made any mistakes in my life I've taken responsibility for my actions. I truly believe in my heart, and I would bet my life that this substance never entered my body at any point. "I've always stood up for what is right. Today is about everybody who's been wrongly accused and everybody who's ever had to stand up for what is actually right. Today isn't about me, it isn't just about one player, it's about all players. "I have always taken tremendous pride in my image and my reputation and being a role model and handling myself the right way and doing things the right way . "The way that I've lived my life, the morals, virtues, values that I live my life by have all been called into question by this experience. "The simple truth is I'm innocent. I've maintained my innocence from Day 1, and ultimately I was proven to be innocent. "We were able to get through this because I am innocent and the truth is on our side. "I have been an open book, willing to share details from every aspect of my life as part of this investigation because I have nothing to hide. I have passed over 25 drug tests in my career, including at least three in the past year. "I've always loved and had so much respect for the game of baseball. Everything I've done in my career has been with the respect and appreciation in mind. "I will continue to take the high road because that's who I am, and that's the way that I've lived my life. We won because the truth is on our side. "There were a lot of things that we learned about the collector, about the collection process, about the way that the entire thing worked that made us very concerned and very suspicious about what could have actually happened." Braun was cheating, and those were his comments. How does someone do that? He didn't just say he was happy to be exoner- "HOMER" on SPORTS STEVE "The HOMER" TRUE ated, he said he was Mother Teresa. He didn't talk about the high road, he acted like he invented the high road. He was cheating and saying all this. Braun will be playing for the Brewers next season. Many issues must be addressed, but that's about the future. Today it's about Ryan Braun the cheater, liar, snake and fraud – in his own words. (Steve "The Homer" True, host of "Homer and Thunder Show," heard from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays on 540 ESPN, can be reached at homer@espnmilwaukee.com) What's next for the Ryan Braun brand? Restaurant waits for comment from suspended Brewers star By KATHERINE MICHALETS Special to The Post and BRIAN HUBER Conley News Service WAUKESHA – A few days after Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun was suspended for the rest of the season over his role in a Major League Baseball investigation of a clinic believed to have sold performance-enhancing drugs, the fate of his restaurant partnership and marketability remained unclear. Omar Shaikh, co-owner and president of SURG Restaurant Group, declined to comment Tuesday on Braun's suspension or the future of the restaurants with which the baseball player is associated. SURG Restaurant Group operates two restaurants partly owned by Braun that also bear his name or uniform number – Ryan Braun's Graffito in Milwaukee and 8-Twelve MVP Bar & Grill in Brookfield. In May, SURG announced plans to open a second 8Twelve location in the Bayshore Town Center in late September or early October. 8-Twelve is also partly owned by Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Shaikh said Tuesday he wants to wait a couple of days before making a statement on behalf of the restaurant group. "I think it's more important for Ryan to speak first," he said. 8-Twelve has been ranked as one of the top 20 athlete-owned restaurants by USA Today . At Burghardt Sporting Goods in Brookfield, co-owner Braun Carl Burghardt said he expected a dip in sales of Braun jerseys, at least in the short term. "We don't sell a lot of the licensed merchandise, but Milwaukee being a pretty conservative community, I would expect the reaction to be negative," he said. Burghardt added he isn't yet seeing fans who bought Braun jerseys coming in to strip his name and number from their backs. There is a cost to do that, depending on the colors and lettering style, among other factors, but screen-printed items cannot be changed. Burghardt said his store cannot replace Braun's name with that and the number of another active player, per baseball licensing agreements, but fans could always personalize their jerseys in other ways. At Waukesha Sports Cards, Manager John Stanke predicted Braun's suspension would "not really" have an impact on prices of merchandise related to the player. "The Braun merchandise has been a slow seller this year, no question about it, but I don't know if it fully relates to the Photo by Charles Auer/Conley News Service The 8-Twelve MVP Bar and Grill in Brookfield is owned by suspended Milwaukee Brewers star Ryan Braun and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. whole issue going around or the lack of excitement around the Brewers right now," he said. "Some of our best sellers were (All-Stars Jean) Segura and (Carlos) Gomez because they popped on the map this year and a lot of people already have their Braun merchandise." He said it wasn't like the store would have a Braun closeout sale, in part because once Braun's 65-game suspension is completed, he will still be under contract with the Brewers. "The fact of the matter is he's still going to be most likely a Brewer until ... his contract expires and people are going to still collect him," Stanke said. Another thing that would hold prices somewhat steady for collectors is the fact that there's not much room for markup as it is on the merchandise, as Braun's has traditionally been a more expensive autograph to obtain. And although the cloud of suspicion has been over Braun's head since late 2011, Stanke said he hadn't seen fed-up fans coming in to sell their Braun merchandise. "Since (Monday), will there be some? That remains to be seen. But before there was nothing going on," he said.

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