ALWAYS A RIDER
Darian Durant has played last game
Darian Durant has disappointed the Winnipeg Blue Bombers
... and it isn’t even Labour Day weekend.
Barely a week before CFL training camps begin, Durant has dropped a bombshell — a Blue Bombshell, if you will — by abruptly, unexpectedly announcing his retirement from football.
Just like that, he’s a Saskatchewan Roughrider again.
Not contractually, or officially, but certainly in terms of perception.
There isn’t any formal tie to a rival organization, such as the Bombers or Montreal Alouettes.
There isn’t the jarring sight of a Roughriders legend toiling behind matador pass protection in Montreal, or standing on the sideline with the Blue Bombers while a less-accomplished quarterback calls the signals.
Durant made it abundantly clear where his allegiances lie while releasing a statement on Friday morning.
“If you cut me open,” he wrote, “I’m sure that I would bleed green.”
In a sense, the bleeding has stopped. It wounded Durant to leave the Roughriders in January of 2016. He was dealt to Montreal just over a year after beginning an uncomfortable alliance with Roughriders’ head coach and general manager Chris Jones.
As a member of the Alouettes, Durant received far too much blame for a three-win season.
After being cut loose by Montreal this past January, he quickly signed with the Bombers. He sounded all the right notes, but it never looked right.
Darian Durant a Bomber? How could it be?
Very quickly, people wondered what it would be like to see him play, or not play, for Winnipeg in the annual Labour Day Classic — a game in which he typically led Saskatchewan to victory.
Now the curiosity pertains as to why he retired, the rationale being unclear.
“While we respect his decision, we are of course extremely disappointed,” Bombers GM Kyle Walters said in a media release.
Durant reportedly received a signing bonus from Winnipeg, only to pull the plug.
So what? How often is the scenario reversed?
In the inequitable world of professional football, the employers hold all the cards. A player can be released in an instant, with the team having no obligation to fulfil the terms of the contract (see: Dressler, Weston; Chick, John).
Of course, the contracts of coaches and general managers are fully guaranteed, whereas the players — who are the show — can be abruptly and arbitrarily terminated without receiving an additional cent.
In this case, Durant calls the shots. He’s able to leave the game on his terms, as opposed to having others dictate the timing.
As a Roughrider, he often discussed his desire to play well into his 30s. He wanted to enjoy an association with the Green and White, in terms of duration and achievements, that put him in the same sentence with Ron Lancaster, George Reed, Roger Aldag and Gene Makowsky.
As a Blue Bomber, Durant would have been playing out the string, and not on the first string. Before it could come to that, he retired at 35 — his true colours being apparent.
For confirmation, check out DarianDurant.com. The home page is dominated by a photo of Durant, resplendent in his familiar green and white No. 4 jersey, holding the Grey Cup above his head on Nov. 24, 2013.
That was a time to celebrate the Roughriders’ ultimate homefield victory.
Now is a time to celebrate a career.