As Apologies Go, Politicians Could Learn A Lot from Ryan Braun – Self Admitted Doper in Baseball

But Then Who Expects Politicians to Learn

With a few notable exceptions, America tends to elect some of the worst, not some of the best to public office.  And when they are caught in their nefarious public and private illegal and inappropriate deeds about the most anyone gets is a half hearted apology in the form, “I am sorry if I offended anyone” or “Mistakes were made”.

In baseball Milwaukee star Ryan Braun has been suspended for using banned substances, and this was after his vigorous denial of wrong doing.  But now he has issued a statement that ought to be required for any politician who betrays the public trust, meaning just about all of them.  Here is an excerpt.

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.

For too long during this process, I convinced myself that I had not done anything wrong. After my interview with MLB in late June of this year, I came to the realization that it was time to come to grips with the truth. I was never presented with baseball’s evidence against me, but I didn’t need to be, because I knew what I had done. I realized the magnitude of my poor decisions and finally focused on dealing with the realities of-and the punishment for-my actions.

I requested a second meeting with Baseball to acknowledge my violation of the drug policy and to engage in discussions about appropriate punishment for my actions. By coming forward when I did and waiving my right to appeal any sanctions that were going to be imposed, I knew I was making the correct decision and taking the first step in the right direction. It was important to me to begin my suspension immediately to minimize the burden on everyone I had so negatively affected- my teammates, the entire Brewers organization, the fans and all of MLB. There has been plenty of rumor and speculation about my situation, and I am aware that my admission may result in additional attacks and accusations from others.

There’s more, but you get the gist.  Public officials, they never will get it.