RIDERS SHOW UNITY
Saskatchewan players link arms during anthem and hold Calgary out of end zone
The Calgary Stampeders edged the Saskatchewan Roughriders 15-9 Sunday at Mosaic Stadium. Before the game, the Riders linked arms to show solidarity with NFL players after controversial comments by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders were unified before and after Sunday’s 15-9 loss to the Calgary Stampeders.
Most of the Riders locked arms during the Canadian anthem, prior to the kickoff at Mosaic Stadium against the CFL-leading Stampeders. The gesture was a sign of solidarity in response to comments made by United States President Donald Trump on the weekend.
Trump criticized NFL players for kneeling during the American national anthem and said owners should fire or suspend players who protest in that manner.
“It was just to show our unity,” Riders defensive back Jovon Johnson said Sunday. “Whether we’re down south in America or up here in Canada, we have a lot of American players on the team. It shows that we’re together, no matter what the colour your skin is, and that we believe in each other.
“We have to use our platform to show that it doesn’t matter what colour you are or where you come from, we’re all humans. If we can do that on this platform, it can trickle down to the other people in the world.”
Riders quarterback Kevin Glenn took to Twitter Saturday in objection to Trump’s comments. Glenn tweeted: “#trump is the disrecptful (sic) one, he should be fired #trumpisabean.”
“I wanted to do it,” Glenn said. “You have social media and sometimes you want to get some stuff up. Everybody else uses that platform to speak their mind. I felt, at that point, I wanted to speak my mind.”
On the field, the Stampeders rolled out of Mosaic Stadium with an 11-1-1 record, extending their winning streak to nine games and clinching a playoff berth.
The Stampeders did all of that without even scoring a touchdown. Rene Paredes accounted for all of Calgary’s points with field goals of 38, 36, 17, 40 and 30 yards.
“It’s a measuring stick for us,” Johnson said. “It shows that we have made some drastic improvements from when we played them the first time and where were are today. We’re a much different football team and we’re heading in the right direction.”
The Riders have been better since a 27-10 loss to Calgary July 22 dropped their record to 1-3. They are 6-6 after Sunday’s loss and still believe in themselves heading into the final third of the CFL season.
“It’s tough saying that after a loss, but we’re still on the right track and we have control over where we want to go,” Glenn said. “If we take care of business in the last third of the season, then we’ll be all right. We’ll put ourselves into the position that we wanted at the beginning of the year.”
Head coach and GM Chris Jones replaced Glenn in the fourth quarter with Brandon Bridge, whose 14-yard pass to Devon Bailey was the game’s only touchdown. Tyler Crapigna’s convert cut Calgary’s lead to 15-9, but that was as close as the Riders would get.
Jones said Glenn will start when the Riders host the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday. It sounded like Jones was worried about the 38-year-old quarterback being injured while facing Calgary’s relentless pressure.
“When you can protect (Glenn) and you can run the football, he will cut you up,” Jones said. “When there is pressure consistently in his face and he has to move around … he’s not a runner and I don’t want him to be a runner. We just want him to move around and throw the ball.”
The Riders lost their leading receiver, Naaman Roosevelt, early in the second quarter after a helmetto-helmet hit by Calgary defensive back Tunde Adeleke.
Roosevelt was helped off the field after making the 16-yard reception. Adeleke was also assessed a penalty. Jones didn’t have an update on Roosevelt’s status. TSN reported that Roosevelt was involved in the concussion protocol.
Defensively, the Riders weren’t able to slow down Calgary’s ground game as Jerome Messam had 23 carries for 127 yards.
“It was a total lack of discipline,” Jones said.