Longtime booster regrets pro-Trump comments
Fans threaten to boycott Friends of the Riders lottery over radio show remarks
Tom Shepherd regrets the pro-Donald Trump comments he made Sunday during CKRM radio’s Saskatchewan Roughriders pre-game show.
Shepherd is the president and founder of the Friends of the Riders Touchdown Lottery, which has raised approximately $20 million for the CFL team since 1986.
Some Riders fans were angry when Shepherd said he supported Trump during a radio spot to promote lottery-ticket sales.
Shepherd called Trump “his man” and backed Trump’s stance that NFL players who kneel during the national anthem should be fired. Shepherd added if he was an owner, he wouldn’t pay the players who took a knee.
“I’m genuinely sorry that my comments have caused such a firestorm,” Shepherd said Tuesday.
“Obviously that wasn’t my intention and I was naive to think that it wouldn’t. If I had thought it would cause a problem, I can 100 per cent guarantee that I wouldn’t have said anything.”
Shepherd said he didn’t intend to damage the Riders’ reputation.
“My love for the club and for the Friends of the Riders has been my whole non-working life since about 1966,” Shepherd said.
“I would never intentionally do anything to hurt the club. I made a mistake and I should have thought it out. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing and I’m sorry I said it.”
The Riders distanced themselves from Shepherd, stating his opinions and comments were not representative of the club.
The lottery is a separate entity and the Riders aren’t involved in its operation.
Shepherd, 74, has deep ties to the Riders. He was the team’s president from 1986 to 1989 and a member of its board of directors from 1978 to 2001.
He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
Some fans have threatened to stop buying lottery tickets as a result of Shepherd’s comments. He feels such a response would be a disservice to the team.
“I would ask them to please reconsider, because buying a ticket doesn’t do one thing for Tom Shepherd,” he said.
“All of the money goes directly to the football club that I assume you love and that I would hate to see you stop supporting. If you’re mad at me, I deserve it. Please don’t take it out on the Riders or the Friends of the Riders lottery.”
Before Sunday’s 15-9 loss to the Calgary Stampeders, the Riders linked arms during O Canada in support of their brethren in the U.S. Shepherd was impressed.
“I didn’t find what the players did to be a problem,” Shepherd said.
“They didn’t do anything to our flag or to our national anthem and
If you’re mad at me, I deserve it. Please don’t take it out on the Riders or the Friends of the Riders lottery.
they simply locked arms in solidarity with their brothers in the United States. Showing solidarity to me is a good thing as opposed to disrespecting our national anthem and our flag.”
Reaction has been mixed to the Riders’ show of solidarity. Some fans wish the players would just stick to football. Others appreciate the show of support.
“For us to do that was big because we wanted to show that we’re involved even though we’re across the border,” Riders defensive back Ed Gainey said.
“We’re not going to stay quiet about it and we’re going to support the cause.”
The cause started as a way to bring awareness to police violence and racism in the U.S. In 2016, then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick initiated the kneeling during the American national anthem.
Saskatchewan receiver Duron Carter said Canadians aren’t aware of how dire the situation can be for black people in the U.S.
“Everybody in this locker-room from the United States has their story or a story about run-ins or where they have been profiled or treated unfairly,” Carter said.
“Being in Canada, it makes you appreciate people because everyone is so nice. I can walk around the street and everyone is normal.”
The Riders plan to continue linking arms during O Canada.
“There isn’t any reason not to,” Carter said. “The whole point of the show is to promote change and to get people talking.”