Jenrry Mejia Banned for Life for 3rd PED Failure

On Friday Jenrry Mejia received a permanent suspension for his third positive test for PEDs. That’s three tests in less than a year. At this point, one has to wonder whether there is another problem here.

Mejia is now the first player to ever receive the ultimate penalty for PEDs. He will be able to apply for reinstatement in two years. But the odds are his career is over.

In a statement, the Mets said:

“We were deeply disappointed to hear that Jenrry has again violated Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. We fully support MLB’s policy toward eliminating performance enhancing substances from the sport. As per the Joint Drug Program, we will have no further comment on this suspension.”

Readers of this website know I was against offering Mejia a contract for 2016. I called him “idiot,” “dumb” and ‘two-time loser.” But I will not say that now because this might be bigger than just trying to gain an edge.

Maybe Jenrry Mejia is indeed just a dope who thought he would get away with it. After all, how many PED users go their entire careers without getting caught? But after testing positive twice, why would he do it again? Not only did it end his career, it also cost him untold millions of dollars (a pro-rated $2.47 million for 2016, at the very least).

No, there is something else going on. Maybe a serious medical problem? But if that were the case, Mejia could have approached MLB and the Mets to try to get an exemption (if that is even possible). In any case, he might have been able to get approved for some sort of medication.

Or maybe there is a psychological issue, maybe something as simple as not being confident enough to pitch without the help of PEDs. It is safe to assume he has been using for more than just this past year.

We can speculate all we want about this, but we will never know. In the end, while Mets fans are understandably angry about this, most of us hope Jenrry Mejia gets the help it looks like he needs.