Although the standard suspension for a first offense under MLB's drug policy was, at that time, 50 games, Braun was suspended an additional 15 games for his actions during and after his appeal of the 2011 test. According to the "Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel", MLB officials were particularly angered by a speech Braun made during 2012 spring training in which he attacked Laurenzi's integrity, suggesting that he tampered with the test because he supported the rival Chicago Cubs or was personally anti-Semitic, and the integrity of the drug program as a whole. MLB considered Braun's speech, as well as his earlier attacks on Laurenzi, to be conduct detrimental to baseball—an offense punishable under the collective bargaining agreement, not the drug policy. Braun accepted the additional suspension without appeal because of overwhelming evidence in the Biogenesis case. On August 22, Braun released a statement in which he apologized for using PEDs. He admitted he used PEDs during the later part of the 2011 season to nurse a nagging injury. The products he used were a cream and a lozenge that would expedite his rehabilitation.