Projo Sports Blog

Manny Ramirez dropped his appeal of a 50-game suspension for performance-enhancing drug use because his medical records -- turned over to Major League Baseball as part of its investigation after Ramirez tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone -- included a prescription for a banned substance for which he had not received a required medical exemption.

Ramirez learned in early April that a drug test taken in spring training had found high levels of testosterone in his body. According to ESPN, the test found four to 10 times the normal range of testosterone. Further tests found the testosterone to be synthetic, according to the ESPN report.

Ramirez had planned to appeal the suspension on the basis that his positive test resulted from the presence of a steroid precursor banned by Olympic rules, but not by Major League Baseball's drug policy, or by federal law. But the appeal apparently fell apart because a prescription for human chorionic gonadotrophin -- a substance that is banned under baseball's drug policy -- was contained in his medical records, which the union had provided to MLB as part of its investigation. The union is now required to turn over records in certain instances as part of MLB's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the prescription -- in absence of a medical exemption granted for a legitimate medical need -- was indisputable evidence of a drug-policy violation. Ramirez's appeal was dropped on the eve of a hearing that had been scheduled last Wednesday, according to the Times report.

 Tags  Los Angeles Dodgers Manny Ramirez steroids

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