Messam out after voyeurism charge
Riders release running back while CFL bars him elsewhere in league
For the second time in as many seasons, the Saskatchewan Roughriders has released a player charged criminally — and the CFL has barred any team from picking up the ousted Rider.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders released Canadian running back Jerome Messam after a voyeurism charge stemming from an alleged incident almost two years ago.
In a statement by the team Monday, the Roughriders said the charge related to an incident alleged to have occurred in November 2016.
In a separate statement, the CFL said Messam has been charged with voyeurism, a Criminal Code offence.
“Commissioner Randy Ambrosie has informed all member clubs that the league will not register a contract for Messam should any team attempt to sign him,” the league statement said.
As for precedent in the CFL’S decision to effectively ban Messam following the criminal charge, the league previously announced it would refuse to register any contract that former Roughriders defensive back Justin Cox signed with any team in 2017 after he was charged with assault causing bodily harm in an alleged incident of domestic violence. The CFL maintained that stance after Cox’s acquittal.
The team and league will not be commenting further regarding Messam as it is now a legal matter. After practice Monday, Roughriders head coach and general manager Chris Jones said he was told not to speak on Messam’s situation.
Messam was a Calgary Stampeder in 2016 and a Calgary police spokeswoman said the charge “relates to the alleged videotaping of a consensual sexual encounter with a victim.
“It is alleged the videotaping was done without the person’s consent.”
The adult complainant came to police in April 2018 after being told Messam had the alleged tape, which police said had not been posted anywhere.
Messam, who is from Brampton, Ont., was charged on Sunday, police said.
The charge will be before the court in Calgary for the first time on Aug. 31.
In comments posted by TSN’S Farhan Lalji on Twitter, Messam said, “(I) hope that very soon I will be found not guilty of this accusation and that I will be able to continue my playing career.
“I appreciate all of the people that have stood (by) me and are supporting me right now ... To the fans, I hope that you will remember how hard I worked on the field and the difference I tried to make in my community in every city I’ve played in.”
Lalji added that Messam’s lawyers are in contact with the CFL and the league players’ association.
Under the Criminal Code, voyeurism is when someone, “surreptitiously, observes — including by mechanical or electronic means — or makes a visual recording of a person who is in circumstances that give rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy.” It carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, although maximums are rarely imposed.
The Criminal Code also covers the publication or distribution of such materials.
Messam, 33, was in his second stint with the Riders this season. He spent two-plus seasons with Calgary after being traded by the Riders in 2015.
Calgary finished the 2016 regular season with a bye week. The Stampeders, after finishing first in the West Division, beat the B.C. Lions at home 42-15 on Nov. 20. That Western Division Final win took them to the Grey Cup in Ottawa on Nov. 27 where they were defeated 39-33 by the Redblacks in overtime.
Messam signed with the Riders in the most recent off-season after being released by the Stampeders.
The six-foot-three, 240-pound Messam ran for just 206 yards on 52 carries (3.9-yard average) in six regular-season appearances this season.
Regarding the CFL’S move effectively barring players facing charges, Ambrosie also made a similar announcement during the 2017 season regarding controversial quarterback Johnny Manziel, but said that if he met certain conditions, he would be eligible for the 2018 season. Manziel, a former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL player, signed with the Hamilton Tiger-cats ahead of this current CFL season and was recently traded to the Montreal Alouettes.