MANDRUSIAK NAMED EQUIPMENT SAFETY ADVISER TO CFLPA
Equipment man extraordinaire Dwayne Mandrusiak, who served Canadian football so well for so long, is back for another tour.
The 64-year-old, unceremoniously cut loose by the Edmonton Football Team last year, has been hired as the equipment safety adviser to the Canadian Football League Players Association.
“I worked for the football club here but I set up a lot of relationships with players on other teams, just from being around for so long,” said Mandrusiak, who logged 49 years in the CFL.
The hiring of Mandrusiak is a deft move by the CFLPA leadership, allowing them to tap a respected resource with decades of experience inside CFL locker-rooms, where Mandrusiak worked seamlessly with players, coaches, medical and equipment staff, management and media. He also has valuable contacts with major equipment manufacturers, and is already engaged in conversations with them.
The CFLPA has built a team of about 28 professionals, many of whom have been retained in consulting roles. They have their first medical director, a neurologist, general counsel, labour counsel and specialists in licensing and marketing.
The CFLPA said Mandrusiak will be tasked to help define equipment standards for players, lead research and understanding of the safest equipment available, provide advice that will inform best practices for identifying, maintaining and repairing equipment, and direct equipment policy and procedures that keep players safe.
“I have enough connections with companies that I can call, so I can get information on equipment. If there are questions players have as far as the safety of their helmet or the safety of the pads. I'm already talking to those manufacturers. We want to be there for the players.”
Though he'll be working for the CFLPA, and the nine equipment managers are employees of CFL teams, Mandrusiak sounds prepared to take on a mentorship role for the next generation.
Health and safety policy advancement has been a focus of the current CFLPA leadership, and the organization believes it has taken major strides toward a safer environment.
“A recent example of player safety initiatives led by the CFLPA and incorporated by the CFL include reducing the number of practices with pads during the regular season from 17 to zero,” the release stated. “This has reduced the number of player injuries by more than 33 per cent.”
They believe the hiring of Mandrusiak furthers that initiative, and that's clearly good for their membership and the game.