Troy Tulowitzki: Ryan Braun didn't contact me in effort to discredit urine collector

The Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki said his conversations with Ryan Braun were only out of concern as a friend. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who remains close friends with suspended Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun, said Braun did not contact him in an effort to build support for his case against Major League baseball and the person that collected his urine sample.

"He never say anything like that to me or asked for my support," Tulowitzki told the Denver Post's Troy Renck of Braun.

Tulowitzki's comments on Braun came a day after reports detailed Braun's alleged plot to build player support for his case by discrediting the person who collected his urine samples as a Cubs fan and anti-Semitic.

Tulowitzki was one of the players named in the report, but he denied on Monday that Braun ever approached him. He said his conversations with Braun were based more around his concern as a friend.

“I talked to him throughout the whole process. It was more as a friend. It wasn’t anything more than that," Tulowitzki told the Post. "He never tried to change my opinion on the subject or anything like that. It was more of me saying, ‘Hey, how is this going? Is this taking a toll on you?’"

Braun, who is Jewish, recently accepted his 65-game suspension in an agreement under the drug-testing agreement. Braun first failed an MLB drug test in the spring of 2012, but won an appeal of MLB’s 50-game suspension due to a chain-of-custody error and faulty protocol in the drug-testing program.

Tulowitzki also said he wants Braun to explain in clear terms why he accepted without fighting a 65-game suspension that was handed down to him last month.

“I think everybody in baseball wants him to get whatever out that he needs to get out. Hopefully, he does it the right way,” Tulowitzki said of Braun, who is expected to address the suspension for the first time soon in public comments.