CFL, union at odds over potential suspension

TORONTO — Brian Ramsay looked to set the record straight Friday.

The CFL and CFL Players’

Association have halted discussions on potential contingency plans for the 2020 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league has already postponed the start of training camps and won’t begin its regular season, which was scheduled to open June 11, until July at the earliest.

Ramsay, the CFLPA’s executive director, said the CFL can’t unilaterally decide on any contingency plan as per the current collective bargaining agreement. Any changes, he added, would require agreement from both sides.

At the heart of the impasse is interpretation of paragraph 16 of a standard

CFL player’s contract. It essentially states both sides agree that if the league operation is suspended at any point, all contracts become null and void making players free agents.

So the question remains, could that happen if this season was cancelled? Not surprisingly, the CFL believes the clause refers to the league folding and ceasing operations, not cancelling a campaign. But Ramsay said the CFLPA brought the matter up as one of many that needed discussing as part of any contingency plan and not to draw a line in the sand. The CBA deals with an 18game schedule and everything going as usual but with the current situation being anything but, many elements of the deal must now be re-examined and readdressed.

A CFL spokesman said Friday the league has no comment.