PHOENIX -- Saying "my name has been dragged through the mud," Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun said he won his appeal of a positive drug test and 50-game suspension because "the truth is on my side."

"Today is for everybody who has ever been wrongly accused," the reigning National League MVP said Friday at a news conference at the Brewers' training facility, his teammates sitting in the stands in uniform behind him. "The simple truth is that I'm innocent. The truth is always relevant and the truth prevailed."

Braun tested positive in October for elevated testosterone, and ESPN's "Outside The Lines" revealed the positive test in December. His case marks the first time a baseball player has successfully challenged a drug-related penalty in a grievance.

Soon after Braun's news conference, MLB and the players' association each released statements defending the testing program. And the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency, David Howman, said that under his agency's rules, Braun still would have had to show that the departure from the rules was related to the test result.

Michael Weiner, executive director of the union, said the sport's joint drug program "stands as strong, as accurate and as reliable as any in sport, both before and after the Braun decision."

"The breach of confidentiality associated with this matter is unfortunate but, after investigation, we are confident that it was not caused by the Commissioner's Office, the MLBPA or anyone associated in any way with the program. In all other respects, the appeals process worked as designed; the matter was vigorously contested and the independent and neutral arbitrator issued a decision deserving of respect by both bargaining parties."

At the time his positive test was reported and again Friday, Braun said that he had not taken a banned substance resulting in the positive test result.

"If I had done this intentionally or unintentionally, I'd be the first one to step up and say I did it," Braun said. "I would bet my life this substance never entered my body."

Friday, Braun detailed how the urine sample he provided on Oct. 1, the day the Brewers opened the playoffs, was not delivered to FedEx until Oct. 3. Baseball's drug agreement calls for samples to be delivered to FedEx on the same day they are collected.

The collector, identified by two people with knowledge of the case as Dino Laurenzi Jr., took the sample at about 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1, after Milwaukee opened the playoffs with a 4-1 win over Arizona, and left Miller Park about 30 minutes later with the urine in a triple-seal container manufactured by Capitol Vial. Braun said the collector's son was with his father at the ballpark.