The good news is that Major League Baseball will not punish Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton for admitting to suffering a relapse with cocaine and alcohol earlier this offseason. The bad news is that his team isn't too thrilled with his behavior.
Here's what the MLB had to say in a statement earlier today:
"The issue of whether Josh Hamilton violated his treatment program was submitted to the Treatment Board established under Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The MLB representatives and the Players Association representatives on the Treatment Board deadlocked on that issue, with MLB taking the position that Hamilton violated his treatment program and is subject to discipline by the Commissioner. Under the procedures of the program, an outside arbitrator was appointed to break the tie, and the arbitrator ruled that Josh Hamilton's conduct did not violate his treatment program. As a result of that decision, the Office of the Commissioner is not permitted to suspend or impose any discipline on Hamilton. The Office of the Commissioner disagrees with the decision, and will seek to address deficiencies in the manner in which drugs of abuse are addressed under the program in the collective bargaining process."
And here's what his team had to say after acknowledging the league's ruling:
"The Angels have serious concerns about Josh's conduct, health and behavior and we are disappointed that he has broken an important commitment which he made to himself, his family, his teammates and our fans. We are going to do everything possible to assure he receives proper help for himself and for the well-being of his family."
"It defies logic that Josh's reported behavior is not a violation of his drug program," added Angels' president John Carpino, via Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
Up until the ruling on Friday, the grounds by which the league would make their decision were murky. Hamilton was subject to a suspension that could have been as minor as 25 games and as major as the entire season. The former AL MVP was suspended from baseball from 2004-2006 for failing "at least" six drug tests with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as a minor leaguer, but it was speculated one or more of those may have occurred while he was on the team's 40-man roster.
If that was the case, his most recent relapse could have been his second, third or fourth violation. First-time offenders are subject to a ban of 15-25 games; second-time offenders can get 25-50 games; third-timers increase to 50-75 games; and fourth-timers get at least one full season.
Nonetheless, Hamilton was found to have not violated his treatment program under the league's drug policy after being subject to public scrutiny in the wake of the exposed report earlier in the offseason. He'll return to action once he recovers from his offseason shoulder surgery.
