Playing for Echuca United as a youngster in the Northern and Echuca Football League, he was recruited from Echuca/Bendigo Pioneers and made his debut in 1997.
Braun announced his AFL retirement midway through the 2008 AFL season, effective at the end of the season.
Member of the West Coast Eagles 2006 premiership team
Controversies
In 2007, Braun ended his acceptance speech for the Ross Glendinning Medal with "Let's have a fucking good year" on live television and in front of a crowd of 42,000 at Subiaco Oval.[1] The Eagles originally fined him $500, but the AFL stepped in, severely reprimanded the Eagles and fined him a further $5,000 for the blunder.[2] It was also the same match in which teammate Adam Selwood was involved in an altercation with Fremantle's Des Headland.
Later that year, then-Western Bulldogs player Jason Akermanis wrote a column about performance-enhancing drugs and his views on their presence in sport, which included comments that he believed a specific opposing player, whom he did not name, had been using the drugs based on how strong a runner the player was for his size. The Seven Network and Fairfax Media named Braun as the player in question, damaging his reputation and subjecting him to an investigation by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, which cleared him of wrongdoing.[3] Braun was ultimately awarded defamation damages against Seven and Fairfax, and received an apology from Akermanis, who conceded that he had been referring to Braun, and admitted that he had been wrong.[4]
Michael married his long-time girlfriend Bree in November 2007 and they have a son called Noah born in October 2008. They now also have a girl called Logan.
Braun can also be found regularly reviewing West Australian restaurants for a local website.[6][7]
