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Statements by Ramirez, players union

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05/07/09 1:03 PM ET

The Major League Baseball Players Association issued the following statement on Thursday in response to the 50-game suspension of Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez.

The Commissioner's Office announced today that Manny Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games under Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. That suspension was issued pursuant to Section 8.G.2 of the Program. Manny, after consultation with the Players Association and his personal representatives, waived his right to challenge that suspension.

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Manny has requested that the Players Association release the following statement on his behalf.

"Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.

"I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I'm sorry about this whole situation."

-- Manny Ramirez

The Players Association stands behind Manny and will continue to support him in any way we can.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.