Jewish children’s publisher Kar-Ben has pulled Ryan Braun—known as the Hebrew Hammer—from the cover of Jewish Sports Stars: Athletic Heroes Past and Present by David J. Goldman, which releases next month in its second edition (the original was published in 2006).
Joni Sussman, publisher for Kar-Ben (which is owned by Lerner) told PW, “While Ryan Braun is a very talented baseball player and we were originally excited to have a contemporary sports figure of his talent and stature with such a strong identification to his Jewish heritage on the cover, there was no question that, after the steroids scandal surfaced, his image was tarnished and he was no longer appropriate to serve as a role model for Jewish kids.”
The book was originally scheduled for August release but was moved to October so Kar-Ben could make the necessary changes. In addition to the jacket photo, Sussman said, “It was cost-prohibitive for us to change the Ryan Braun profile in the text of the book, [but] we did change the back cover copy and added the following on the inside back cover to clarify for our readers:”
“Shortly after the publication of this book, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun (pages 6-8) was suspended for 65 games, the remainder of the 2013 Major League Baseball season, for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.”
Braun was replaced in the back cover copy and the jacket photo by reliable Jewish hero Sandy Koufax, and Aly Raisman remains.
