Just when Ryan Braun thought it was safe to close the book on his hurt reputation following his connection to the Biogenesis scandal and performance enhancing drugs, an author is shutting Braun out of a book about Jewish athletes in which the embattled Milwaukee Brewers outfielder was set to appear on the cover of.
Braun, who was banned 65 games in July for his connection to the clinic and lost about $3.4 million in salary this season, has been trying to rehabilitate his image after the baseball world discovered his wrongdoings during the fallout of the Biogenesis scandal. Braun has gone through great lengths to try to clean up his reputation, such as a public apology and phoning Brewers' season ticket holders to apologize for what he's done, but it appears that wasn't good enough for David J. Goldman, author of the book "Jewish Sports Stars: Athletic Heroes, Past and Present."
Goldman originally had Braun on the cover with Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman, however he pulled the plug on Braun's image following the Biogenesis news and he then replaced him with Sandy Koufax. The book was scheduled for a release in August, however after the Biogenesis news broke, the publisher scrambled to replace Braun on the cover.
A photo of both covers can be seen here.
Braun's story is still in the book, according to Yahoo Sports, on pages 6-8 because it would have been too expensive for the publishers to take it out entirely after already having to change the cover. There is a blurb in the back of the book where the publishing company acknowledges Braun's misdeeds.
"While Ryan Braun is a very talented baseball player and we were originally excited to have a contemporary sports figure of his talent and stature with such a strong identification to his Jewish heritage on the cover," Kar-Ben's Joni Sussman said to Publisher's Weekly, "there was no question that, after the steroids scandal surfaced, his image was tarnished and he was no longer appropriate to serve as a role model for Jewish kids."
This is not the first thing that Braun has lost due to his role with performance enhancing substances, as the slugger also lost deals with Nike and the convenience store chain Kwik-Trip. He also lost a business deal with Aaron Rodgers on a restaurant partnership powered by SURG restaurant group called 8-Twelve MVP Bar & Grill.
On top of losing games, salary and sponsorships, Braun has also lost some friends due to his lying over taking PEDs. Perhaps what will hurt Braun most in the long run is his loss of the trust and respect of so many fans around baseball.
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