It was funny that after Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera was busted for using synthetic testosterone last week people praised him for coming out and admitting his mistake.
Multiple people wrote on Twitter that at least he didn’t go the Ryan Braun route and try to beat the suspension. Except we know he likely did appeal it, since MLB only announces suspensions after a player has gone through the appeal process. Not a big deal, the MLB Players’ Association makes every player appeal suspensions.
But the New York Daily News published a bombshell on Sunday morning detailing Cabrera’s representatives creating a fake website and fake product to explain why Cabrera failed the test unknowingly. Wow.
His agents reportedly had a flunky pay $10,000 to set up the fake website selling the non-existent tainted supplement. How exactly did these morons think this was going to work? Did they figure MLB wouldn’t investigate the website’s product?
On a side note, who spends $10,000 on a website? Do they not watch GoDaddy ads?
Juan Nunez, Cabrera’s associate who set up the site, has already been thrown under the bus by Cabrera’s agents Seth and Sam Levinson. He was a paid consultant for them, but they apparently had no knowledge of this scheme. Yeah, I believe that about as much as the website selling a non-existent product.
Nunez has already taken the fall like a good flunky, confirming they had no knowledge. And it just so happens that the Levinsons have their alibi already handy.
“Juan Nunez is NOT a salaried employee of ACES [their agency] and does NOT receive the benefits that all ACES employees receive,” Levinson wrote in an email to the News. “Most importantly, any and all calls, texts and emails that he sends come from his own PERSONAL devices (BlackBerry).”
How totally convenient of Levinson to have this situation all set up ahead of time.
The only thing we learned from this whole situation is just how big of a fraud everyone in this case is — Cabrera, Nunez and the Levinsons.
Couldn’t they have hired Saul Goodman? He totally would’ve handled this properly.
Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports. He is not a paid consultant of Saul Goodman. But he wishes he was.
