Green Gaels president named interim MSL commissioner

Long-time Ontario Lacrosse Association executive Doug Luey has been appointed as interim commissioner of Major Series Lacrosse.

Luey’s appointment was affirmed at an MSL governors meeting on Sunday. Part of Luey’s mandate is to find a full-time commissioner to replace Jim Brady who was relieved of the post earlier this year by the MSL board.

Luey, who has served as OLA vice-president of junior and major series lacrosse and is president of the Clarington Green Gaels, said the MSL needed someone to process player transactions, resolve disputes and interpret league rules where required. Luey chaired the MSL draft in January and has advised the league on player transactions since Brady’s removal.

“They were actively pursuing a new commissioner but were not comfortable with the names that had been brought forward, so far,” Luey said.

“Once the season started there were some irregularities in what they were doing against their own policy paper so I offered to do it until they can replace the commissioner. They need someone to take care of player movement. It’s unfair to (MSL chairman) Brad (MacArthur) to look after player movement when he has a club involved.”

MacArthur is general manager of the Brooklin Redmen.

Luey said his hope is to find a new commissioner by the MSL’s annual general meeting in November. He said the Western Lacrosse Association was fortunate to find a new commissioner in Paul Dal Monte who not only had an extensive lacrosse background but also worked in marketing for the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. That would be a similar combination the MSL would like to find, he said.

“One of the reasons I don’t want the position full-time is that I’m not an IT, tech savvy type of guy and I think that was part of Mr. Brady’s problem,” Luey said.

“You need somebody younger. Marketing is a funny word. Marketing to some people means selling tickets. Nowadays with social media and web casting, all that stuff rolled into one, you need someone who understands the new world of media.

“I don’t think they have to have a lacrosse background,” he said. “They have to be intelligent enough to understand the league’s policy paper; the rules of Major Series Lacrosse. That’s what the bulk of that job is. Having the governors understand the rules they put in place and follow them.

“People put rules and guidelines in place and then they want to break them when it’s convenient for the club. Having a long-term vision for Major Series Lacrosse would be my goal. It’s very difficult when you have governors who get tunnel vision for their teams and not the good of the league.”

Luey would also like to see greater partnership between the MSL and WLA who operate under different rules.

“The Mann Cup has been going for 100 years but we’re operating on different playing fields in B.C. and Ontario,” he said.

They were actively pursuing a new commissioner but were not comfortable with the names that had been brought forward, so far” Doug Luey, Ontario Lacrosse Association executive