RIDERS BENCH HUGHES
After saying that Charleston Hughes would dress for Saturday’s game Against the Stampeders despite Being Charged with impaired driving, the Riders had second thoughts on Friday. It was the proper Call, say MADD And ROB Vanstone.
A Saskatchewan Roughriders player’s impaired driving charge and subsequent suspension from play is an opportunity for people to consider the consequences of driving while impaired.
That’s the view of Michelle Okere, Saskatchewan’s regional manager for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada.
“When it happens to someone who is in the public eye, it certainly draws more attention and hopefully an opportunity for people to recognize that serious consequences are involved,” Okere said.
Riders defensive end Charleston Hughes was charged with impaired driving and failing to provide a breath sample for analysis after an alleged incident on Oct. 11.
He is scheduled to appear in Regina provincial court on Oct. 31.
On Thursday, head coach Chris Jones said Hughes would be on the active roster for Saturday’s game in Calgary. But on Friday, the team issued a statement to say Hughes would not be on the active roster, after a “thorough review ” of player discipline rules.
The Riders Code of Conduct does not specifically mention impaired driving, but more broadly states that Club personnel must “at all times, comply with the law and avoid any activity which breaches any applicable law …” and “take responsibility for their physical actions and emotional state.”
Penalties after an investigation can include “counselling or other remedial action, a reprimand or a suspension or termination of employment.”
“Certainly it’s not our place to say whether or not someone should be fired or what sanctions should take place,” Okere said.
Saskatchewan is “a province that does have a really terrible history with impaired driving,” Okere added. “The reality is that this is something that does cause injuries and fatalities on our roads. There are real consequences to people in our community.”
In 2015, the police-reported impaired driving rate was 575 incidents per 100,000 people, the highest rate among the provinces and almost three times higher than the national average.
In 2016, 57 people were killed in Saskatchewan by impaired drivers, the highest rate of death among the provinces.
That year, SGI launched its People Shouldn’t Disappear campaigns, putting real faces to the issue.