"I want to apologize for my actions and provide a more specific account of what I did and why I deserved to be suspended. I have no one to blame but myself,'' Braun said in a statement released by the Brewers.
"My family, my teammates, the Brewers organization, my friends, agents, and advisors had no knowledge of these facts, and no one should be blamed but me. Those who put their necks out for me have been embarrassed by my behavior. I don't have the words to express how sorry I am for that.''
Braun said he took an unspecified cream and lozenge in 2011 in his attempts to return from an injury. He called it a "huge mistake'' for which he is "deeply ashamed.''
Braun also apologized personally to Dino Laurenzi Jr., the sample collector who was in charge of the test that Braun successfully appealed in a grievance prior to spring training in 2012.
"At that time, I still didn't want to believe that I had used a banned substance,'' Braun said in his statement. "I think a combination of feeling self righteous and having a lot of unjustified anger led me to react the way I did. I felt wronged and attacked, but looking back now, I was the one who was wrong. I am beyond embarrassed that I said what I thought I needed to say to defend my clouded vision of reality. I am just starting the process of trying to understand why I responded the way I did, which I continue to regret. There is no excuse for any of this."
"My family, my teammates, the Brewers organization, my friends, agents, and advisors had no knowledge of these facts, and no one should be blamed but me. Those who put their necks out for me have been embarrassed by my behavior. I don't have the words to express how sorry I am for that.''
Braun said he took an unspecified cream and lozenge in 2011 in his attempts to return from an injury. He called it a "huge mistake'' for which he is "deeply ashamed.''
Braun also apologized personally to Dino Laurenzi Jr., the sample collector who was in charge of the test that Braun successfully appealed in a grievance prior to spring training in 2012.
"At that time, I still didn't want to believe that I had used a banned substance,'' Braun said in his statement. "I think a combination of feeling self righteous and having a lot of unjustified anger led me to react the way I did. I felt wronged and attacked, but looking back now, I was the one who was wrong. I am beyond embarrassed that I said what I thought I needed to say to defend my clouded vision of reality. I am just starting the process of trying to understand why I responded the way I did, which I continue to regret. There is no excuse for any of this."
