How tweet it is: Lemon always has something to say
REGINA — Shawn Lemon joked on Twitter the other day about hiring a security detail to accompany him to Mark’s CFL Week in Regina.
As it turns out, the 6-foot-2, 251-pounder stepped off the plane by himself Monday night at Regina International Airport.
“I think I should be good,” the Toronto Argonauts defensive end said. “They really won’t say anything unless it’s on social media. That’s always the way it is. They’ll ask, ‘Why did you leave?’ but it’s obvious.”
Lemon, 28, lasted just one game with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2016 after signing a lucrative $170,000 contract, including an $85,000 signing bonus. Somehow through training camp, the big-name free agent signing fell out of favour with head coach/general manager Chris Jones and ended up third on the depth chart at rush end.
In short order, Lemon requested a trade and the Riders shipped him to Toronto.
Nine months later, the divorce sits just fine with Lemon.
“I’m happy the Riders traded me to a place that I love now,” Lemon said. “I can’t get mad at those guys. I love Toronto. There’s always something going on in the city. I can get good food after practice every day.”
Apparently, that wasn’t always the case in the Queen City.
“Everything was closed at 6 p.m.,” Lemon said, with a chuckle.
Like many of us, Lemon says he is slightly addicted to his smartphone. He loves to stir things up on social media, especially in the off-season. In February, he infuriated the folks in Saskatchewan by sending a public message on Twitter to offensive lineman Derek Davis upon signing as a free agent with the Riders.
“Congrats on making the biggest mistake of your life,” Lemon wrote.
Lemon regularly chirps at other big names in the CFL, including Calgary defensive end Charleston Hughes (who holds the sack title) and ferocious Hamilton linebacker Simoni Lawrence. The other day, Lemon pledged to snatch Lawrence’s signature gold chain in the season opener between Toronto and Hamilton.
“Lemon’s a good player, and when someone is a very good player and they talk, I feel like it means more than from somebody who has played like one game,” Lawrence said. “He’s an all-star. Everywhere he goes, he produces. ”
Lawrence and Lemon share the belief that banter on social media can only help grow Canadian football and attract a new generation of fans.