Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun has lost a great deal of credibility as well as more than one-third of a season in the wake of his 65-game suspension for a violation of Major League Baseball’s joint drug prevention and treatment program. That isn’t all he has lost, though, as convenience store chain Kwik Trip has dropped Braun as a spokesperson, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com.
According to Erik Brady of USA Today, Braun will miss the remainder of the 2013 season without pay as he negotiated his ban with the league office. Had Braun attempted to continue fighting the suspension, it’s possible that it could have carried over into the 2014 season, but that is no longer a concern.
Although it seems like Braun came out of this situation in the best shape possible, his wallet will be even lighter than anticipated. Braun has been the spokesperson for Kwik Trip for the past four years, but the decision was made to drop Braun and stop airing any commercials or utilizing any promotions that involve him. The company is a chain of convenience stories with locations in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, according to its webstie.
Kwik Trip director of marketing and advertising Gary Gonczy reportedly told ESPN that the company has dissolved its relationship with Braun. This comes just 11 days before the winner of a contest to have lunch with Braun at his Graffito restaurant in Milwaukee was set to be announced.
The 29-year-old outfielder has been one of baseball’s best players since his rookie season in 2007. He has never registered less than 25 home runs and 97 RBI in a full season, and he also sports a .312 career batting average and won the 2011 NL MVP award.
Braun’s 2013 season was riddled by injuries, but he still managed to hit .298 with nine homers and 38 RBI through 61 contests. “The Hebrew Hammer” very well may resume his high level of play when he returns to action next season, but he has a lot of work to do when it comes to regaining the trust of fans and becoming marketable again.
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