Abuse allegations need to be taken seriously

It's important that alleged victims be listened to, writes

It's happening everywhere. Why not in the CFL, too?

Accusations of abuse. A preeminent man reportedly taking advantage of his star status, his entitlement, expecting someone to accept his advances because of his position. It sounds so familiar, so often, in so many places.

None of it has been proven, these are only legal accusations at the moment, so justice will be allowed to run its course. If it gets that far.

Neither the Toronto Argonauts nor quarterback Chad Kelly, the CFL'S reigning outstanding player, have yet filed responses to a harassment and wrongful dismissal suit filed against them Wednesday in Ontario Superior Court.

The report comes from TSN'S Rick Westhead, who broke the story Thursday and supplied the pertinent details.

A former strength and conditioning coach, who started working for the Argos in 2018, claims she was fired last month after refusing Kelly's repeated advances, which had intensified with a public, verbal confrontation in November.

Her statement said the team did not comply by CFL policies designed to make the workplace safe, nor did it file a report to the league office even though Argos personnel were apprised of the situation. Assistant general manager John Murphy, who was rehired two years ago by the team after being fired for a postgame altercation involving fans and players, allegedly told her she had “opened a can of worms that didn't need to be opened.”

According to Westhead, she is suing “Kelly for $50,000 for alleged violations of the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Argos for $85,714, claiming wrongful dismissal.”

Yes, keep it in perspective. It hasn't been proven. At the moment it's just a suit that could appear on a court docket. But if society has learned anything — and this is vital — it's important to listen to the possible victims, the people brave enough to step forward and face scrutiny from the courts, lawyers, media and public. In this case it isn't someone asking for millions of dollars, it instead looks like someone trying to recoup lost salary and perhaps a damaged reputation.

Listen. Hockey Canada is in trouble for alleged sexual abuses from its 2003 and 2018 world juniors teams because it may appear to others the organization was more concerned with keeping the incidents secret than in discovering the truth.

Few situations reach the same level as studio mogul Harvey Weinstein, former U.S. president Donald Trump or comedian

Bill Cosby abusing their wealth, power, positions and fame before being found guilty of sexual assault.

Sports stories are closer to junior hockey coach Graham James abusing his teenage players on the Swift Current Broncos, where a person exploited his high-profile position of power against victims who were scared or embarrassed to come forward, believing it might ruin their careers.

Another recent sports story just passed through the Court of Kings Bench. During that trial, an unnamed player testified he had been sexually and physically assaulted 35 years ago by Bernie Lynch, then an assistant coach with the WHL'S Regina Pats. There were no witnesses.

Lynch received a three-year prison sentence after the judge believed unequivocally the testimony of the victim.

While the claims against the Argos and Kelly do not involve allegations of sexual assault like these other cases, the CFL would be well-advised to step forward and deal with this directly. Conduct an in-depth investigation, not something paper-thin like the NHL did regarding its players who were with the 2018 Canadian junior team.

This is a league that fired a photographer for describing a photo shoot as “too gay,” so the CFL believes it is trying to create a safe and equal working environment. It has advocated for female coaches, created awards for support staff and insisted it is not racist, homophobic or biased in any way. Open this can of worms and let everyone look inside.