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Tag: Ryan Braun

  • Alex Rodriguez Sued by Own Lawyer Over Alleged Unpaid Legal Fees

    Alex Rodriguez is being sued by his own attorney, David Cornwell, over $380,000 in allegedly unpaid legal fees.

    In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan on Monday, Cornwell and his firm Gordan & Rees said Rodriguez never finished paying them for work performed on his failed bid to overturn a lengthy doping suspension received in connection with the Biogenesis scandal.

    Rodriguez’ troubles started back in January 2013 when the Miami New Times published an article linking him, Ryan Braun, Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colón, and others to the Biogenesis Clinic. Although Biogensis billed itself as an anti-aging clinic, it was actually providing the athletes with performance-enhancing drugs.

    When the MLB commenced a series of meetings and investigations, Rodriguez set about assembling what he called a “legal dream team.” He included Cornwell because the veteran sports attorney had been a key player in getting Ryan Braun’s 2012 doping suspension overturned.

    In August the MLB banned Rodriguez for 211 games. In January the suspension was reduced to 162 games, effectively keeping the New York Yankees third baseman off the field for the entire 2014 season.

    At the time, Rodriguez issued a statement on Facebook:

    Post by Alex Rodriguez.

    In a 12-page complaint filed by Gordon & Rees in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the firm said that Rodriguez is acting at least partially upon the recommendation of Roc Nation Sports, a sports management company owned by Shawn “Jay Z” Carter.

    “Most recently, Mr. Rodriguez admitted that his advisers at Roc Nation, most specifically, Desiree Perez, instructed him ‘not to pay the invoices, and to make Gordon & Rees sue’ him.”

    Post by Alex Rodriguez.

    Desiree Perez is one of Jay Z’s top advisors at Roc Nation. And she’s had her own share of trouble with the law. In 1994 she was arrested for intent to distribute cocaine and later served as a cooperating witness for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

    Back in May, when Rodriguez was set to cut a deal with the MLB and retire early, Perez allegedly convinced him to continue fighting the charges.

    Post by Alex Rodriguez.

    What does A-Rod have to say about all of this?

    “Alex Rodriguez has already paid substantial legal fees to this firm,” said his spokesman. “There are additional fees being sought from hours that continued to be billed and are the source of the disagreement between the parties. Alex looks forward to swiftly resolving this matter and moving on.”

    And Rodriguez has denied being influenced by Perez, saying he has no official ties to Roc Nation Sports:

    “I made my own decisions with my legal team over the last year, and I have accepted my penalties and am trying to serve my penalty.”

    Post by Alex Rodriguez.

    The Gordan & Rees lawsuit comes at a time when Rodriguez appears to be attempting to lie low and quietly ride out his suspension.

    His Facebook feed is filled with photos of him spending time with daughters Natasha and Ella and volunteering for the Boys and Girls Club in Miami.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Ryan Braun To Endorse 3N2 Softball Cleats

    Ryan Braun To Endorse 3N2 Softball Cleats

    Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers’ right fielder, has just signed an endorsement deal with 3N2, a manufacturer of baseball cleats. This is the first endorsement the player has agreed to, following his 65-game suspension for violating the anti-drug agreement of the MLB (Major League Baseball).

    Braun’s endorsement deal with Nike was cut short on August 2, due to the drug allegations. Marty Graham, president of 3N2, said that they would pay Braun a fraction of the cost that he got from Nike. The cleat-company had contacted the player’s representatives in hopes of striking a deal with Braun. They then sent a pair of cleats to Braun, and sources say that he has been using them while training throughout the spring season.

    Braun’s drug allegations did not seem to stop the 3N2 from getting him to endorse their products. Graham said that the company believes in Braun and that the country is about second chances.

    Reports from SportsOneSource indicate that 3N2 is just getting 0.2% market share in the $220 million baseball cleat market. It is behind leaders in the industry including Mizuno, Armour, Adidas, New Balance, and Nike. However, Graham said that since they are a smaller business, their progress is not well tracked and that their market share is closer to 2%.

    Braun is reported to have lost a whopping $3.3 million in salary because of his suspension. He was also dropped as an endorser for Milwaukee restaurants, AirTran Airways, and Kwik Trip. Graham said that if the player performs the way they think he would, his negative past will soon be forgotten. As of December, Braun’s appeal on consumers is likened to Dennis Rodman’s or Donald Trump’s.

    Aside from the 3N2 deal, Braun is also reported to be paid to wear the Natural II, a new batting glove from Franklin Sports.

    Ryan Braun Lied About Doping

    Image via YouTube

  • Alex Rodriguez May Face Lifetime Ban

    Major League Baseball’s battle with performance enhancing drugs has been widely documented, including here on WPN, but the latest string of players being persecuted for use is starting to show just how damage the fight can be to the sport.

    No current player, save maybe former NL MVP Ryan Braun, is poised for more of a downfall than A-rod himself, Alex Rodriguez. While it is still unclear just how MLB will attempt to punish the Yankees slugger, the possibilities that are being thrown around range from a severe slap on the wrist to ending his career.

    Sources with knowledge of the situation have told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” that some officials would like to seek a lifetime ban for Rodriguez, who was once seen as the golden boy of the big leagues.

    The reasoning behind that decision would be that Rodriguez would have to defend himself in arbitration if slapped with a ban. A suspension would allow him to appeal and continue to play. Some officials would view that as a slap in the face since they claim to have a hefty amount of evidence showing Rodriguez’s guilt.

    The sources also believe that MLB would rather Rodriguez and his team of attorneys accept a long-term suspension in order to same the sport from further tarnishing during an arbitration that would drag some of the demons of the steroid era into the light. Such a suspension would likely keep Rodriguez off of the field for the entirety of next season, but would not end his career.

    Rodriguez’s attorneys have stated that they will fight any suspension, but when faced with a possible lifetime ban they may reconsider. Either way, Rodriguez’s image will likely never recover, and another titan of the game will go down in history as nothing more than another cheater.

  • Ryan Braun Loses Convenience Store Endorsement Deal

    As reported yesterday here on WPN, former major league MVP Ryan Braun was recently slapped with a 65-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy. While it has not been explicitly revealed just what Braun did to go against the policy, that is not stopping companies from pulling out of their endorsement deals.

    Until recently Braun was the face of Kwik Trip, a company that operates over 400 stores in the tri-state area of Iowa, Minnesota, and his team’s home state of Wisconsin. Braun had been the company’s spokesman for four years, but the suspension proved to be too much to allow him to remain the face of the business.

    All commercials and other advertisements bearing Braun’s face have been removed and the company has also announced the cancellation of a contest that would have allowed a winner to have lunch with Braun at a Wisconsin area restaurant.

    Other companies that have deals with Braun, including restaurant groups and sports giant Nike, are currently evaluating their options before they announce whether or not they plan to stick with the besieged slugger.

    Braun losing endorsements is nothing new. In the recent past Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong experienced similar obstacles in the face of controversy. Unfortunately for Braun, his tale leans more toward Armstrong, whose reputation will likely never recover since his deeds directly involved the sport he excelled in and, at least to some, invalidated his position as sports idol.

    The one silver lining for Braun is that Canadian company SAM BAT says that it will continue to produce and sell his signature RB8 bat. Company president Arlene Anderson went on record saying “We’ve had a good relationship with Ryan and we don’t anticipate that changing at this point.”

    However, it is likely that SAM BAT will prove to be the exception as more details about Braun’s suspension come to light.

  • Former Major League Baseball MVP Braun Suspended

    Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers has performed a non-denial denial when he responded Monday to allegations of performance-enhancing substance use. Braun, who was named as an MVP in autumn of 2011 after the World Series, claimed in his statement that he never used any steroids in spite of accepting what essentially amounts to a ban from baseball.

    The Twitterverse is, of course, abuzz as the baseball world makes their opinions known…

    The executive director of the MLB Player’s Association, Michael Weiner, released a press statement that reads: “I am deeply gratified to see Ryan taking this bold step. It vindicates the rights of all players under the Joint Drug Program. It is good for the game that Ryan will return soon to continue his great work both on and off the field.”

  • MLB Suspension Rumors: Braun, A-Rod In Deep Trouble

    Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers and Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees are facing major suspensions from the MLB over the use of performance enhancing drugs. The two players – along with 18 others – could be slapped with suspensions of 100 games, nearly two thirds of a season.

    The players are in trouble with the MLB over reports linking them to the Biogenesis Clinic in Miami. Biogenesis purported to be an anti-aging clinic. In January of this year, though, some of the records from Biogenesis (which had recently closed) found their way to the Miami New Times. These records read like a virtual Who’s Who of professional sports, including Major League Baseball. Names like Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colón, and others were listed among the clinic’s patients.

    The MLB, as you probably know, takes a rather stern view of the use of performance enhancing drugs, hitting players who are caught doping with lengthy suspensions. According to ESPN today, Braun met with MLB officials on June 29 to answer questions about his link to the clinic. Or, more accurately, to not answer questions. Braun reportedly declined to give the MLB information about the clinic or his involvement with it.

    Rumors suggest that A-Rod – who is currently rehabbing from hip surgery in the minors – has a meeting of his own coming up, but he denied knowing anything about it, though he did say that the players involved were under strict instructions not to talk about the case.

    This is not the first time Rodriguez or Braun have been linked to PEDs. Several years ago A-Rod’s name came up in a list of players who had tested positive during a time when the MLB was testing players anonymously (supposedly) in an attempt to gauge the scope of the problem. He admitted to using the drugs during his time with the Texas Rangers, but denied having juiced in years.

    Braun, meanwhile, narrowly avoided a suspension for PED use in 2012. In December, 2011, results of a urine test he had taken in October were leaked to the media. The test results showed elevated testosterone levels, suggesting the use of performance enhancing drugs. Braun appealed the results in January of 2012, narrowly winning his appeal.