CLA begins looking for replacement players
Players association continues to press for better medical coverage, charitable status
The Canadian Lacrosse Association has contacted players looking for replacements for its senior national men’s team.
The 34 players short-listed for Canada’s entry at the world championships in Israel in July are prepared to boycott if the CLA doesn’t reach an agreement with the National Lacrosse Team Players Association (NLTPA). The agreement must apply to all five national teams, say the NLTPA which was formed last fall.
The Examiner is aware of three college players the CLA has sent letters to in an attempt to recruit replacements. The CLA also tried to go around the NLTPA by sending a proposal directly to each player.
NLTPA lawyer Richard Furlong said not one player responded to the CLA. The union seeks improved medical coverage and for the CLA to cover player costs of participating in world championships, among other issues.
For the first time since an April 13 meeting when talks broke off between the CLA and NLTPA the CLA issued a statement to media on Thursday. The statement was a copy of a letter the CLA board of directors sent to its membership.
“While the CLA would prefer that the players identified in the Top 34 player pool be the ones to represent Canada in Israel this summer,” states the letter.
“We need to be conscious of timelines, deadlines and be prepared for all other scenarios. To ensure that we are meeting the needs of our membership, we will explore other options to field a team at Worlds this year while continuing to understand and work through the proposals being put forward by the NLTPA.”
Furlong said the CLA attempts to recruit “scab” players will not work.
“There is no way you’re going to have lacrosse players putting a knife in other lacrosse players’ backs,” Furlong said. “It’s not going to happen.”
Furling said the CLA arranged a conference call Saturday to talk to senior men’s players but not one player joined the call. He joined the call to represent the players.
The letter states the CLA has agreed to cover all expenses for the men’s team in Israel, has improved its health insurance and travel insurance for players and started the process of reapplying for its Registered Canadian Amateur Athletic Association (RCAAA) charitable status.
Furlong acknowledged the CLA offered to cover expenses for Israel but the NLTPA wants an agreement that covers all five teams at future games.
“That leaves behind the question as to why the women’s teams and other men’s teams cannot receive the same guarantees,” Furlong said.
He said their improvements to medical coverage were provided by way of a summary sheet that lacked detail and doesn’t address some questions and concerns, particularly when playing outside North America.
“It was a disastrous plan to begin with. Now it’s slightly less disastrous. It’s still not a good plan,” Furlong said.
“There is no evidence they plan to apply these incremental improvements to the other four teams.”
Furlong said he’s seen no proof the CLA has reapplied for RCAAA charity status.
“When we met on April 13 they conceded they had not made reapplication and were uncertain on how long the process would take. We’ve heard nothing past that,” Furlong said.
The CLA said it needs more time to properly consider some of the additional proposals including recognizing the NLTPA and implementing changes to the operating structure of the organization. The CLA says some of those issues can’t be addressed until the AGM in November.
“In essence, get on the plane to Israel and we’ll deal with this later,” Furlong said. “Unfortunately, they’ve burned all bridges and any semblance of trust so their attempt to kick the can down the road is not going to work.”
The letter states all questions should be directed to CLA executive director Jane Clapham, who said the CLA is in the process of identifying a spokesperson for the issue who will be available on Friday.