Ryan Braun apologizes for use of PEDs

Ryan Braun, as expected, has issued a a statement apologizing and explaining his use of performance-enhancing drugs and accepting a 65-game suspension from baseball.

Braun also apologized to Dino Laurenzi Jr., the collector that mishandled Braun's urine sample, leading an arbitrator to throw out his suspension for a failed drug test last year. Braun did not mention his previous claims that Laurenzi was a Cubs-hating anti-Semite.

Here is a section of his apology statement.

“Here is what happened. During the latter part of the 2011 season, I was dealing with a nagging injury and I turned to products for a short period of time that I shouldn't have used. The products were a cream and a lozenge which I was told could help expedite my rehabilitation. It was a huge mistake for which I am deeply ashamed and I compounded the situation by not admitting my mistakes immediately.

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“I deeply regret many of the things I said at the press conference after the arbitrator's decision in February 2012. At that time, I still didn't want to believe that I had used a banned substance. 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."

The full statement can be read here.