CFL fines on Chris Jones’ watch hit $116,500
The Saskatchewan Roughriders do not open training camp for another month, but they are already in two-a-day mode.
The CFL handed the Roughriders a pair of fines Friday, adding to the list of violations by Chris Jones and associates.
Most recently, the Green and White has been disciplined for two bylaw violations ($31,500) while Jones has been fined $5,000 for meeting with the publicist for troubled quarterback Johnny Manziel.
Johnny Football flashed his patented “money” gesture upon being ill-advisedly drafted by the NFL’s Cleveland Browns in 2014, so it all fits, really.
What is the Riders’ tab now? Where is the abacus?
Aug. 2, 2016: CFL penalizes the Roughriders $15,000 for a ratio violation.
Aug. 11, 2016: CFL fines Roughriders $60,000 for roster violations and reduces the team’s salary cap by $26,000. Commissioner Jeffrey Orridge says the Roughriders “have compromised the reputation of the CFL.”
Aug. 14, 2016: Add $5,000 for a field violation — staying on the McMahon Stadium midfield logo during player introductions before a game in Calgary.
April 28, 2017: The aforementioned $31,500 for two bylaw violations (players attending practice while on the CFL’s suspension list; violations related to recruitment of a junior player). April 28, 2017: Cha-ching! Jones is dinged $5,000. Manziel is on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ negotiation list, so contact with his mouthpiece constituted tampering.
The grand total: $116,500.
Six figures worth of sanctions do not take into account other questionable moves by the Roughriders.
Last July, it came to light that Jones had talked with controversial defensive lineman Greg Hardy, who in 2014 was charged with assaulting and threatening his former girlfriend. Jones told the media that the disgraced ex-NFLer had initiated the discussion, after which the CFL blocked the Roughriders from adding him to the negotiation list.
On the same day that the Hardy matter made news, Jones defended the Roughriders’ decision to sign Justin Cox even though the international defensive back had faced legal issues relating to domestic violence. (The Roughriders released Cox last week, after he was charged with assault causing bodily harm.)
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have been notified of the league’s decision and accept their disciplinary action.
Let’s not forget Aug. 31, 2016, when the Roughriders’ tone-deaf signing of defensive tackle Khalif Mitchell was announced.
Mitchell had been fined the previous year by the CFL and the Montreal Alouettes (his team at the time) for anti-Semitic tweets.
The Roughriders’ media release regarding the addition of Mitchell arrived as members of media were touring/ogling the substantially completed Mosaic Stadium.
Instantly, a cloud was cast over what should have been a goodnews day for the communityowned team.
But this is a regime that is seemingly allergic to positivism.
Last season, for example, the Roughriders erupted for one victory in their first 11 games under Jones — the well-compensated head coach, general manager and vice-president of football operations.
The Roughriders of 2016 finished with a 5-13 record, giving them co-tenancy in the league basement with the Toronto Argonauts, and apparently it was all Darian Durant’s fault.
Shortly after the season, Jones attached the “moderately successful” label to the accomplished quarterback, who was rightfully rankled.
Durant is now employed by the Alouettes. The Roughriders, meanwhile, are still trying to determine who their starting quarterback will be. The youth movement includes Kevin Glenn, 37, and Vince Young, 33. Sustained success, we are told, is the goal. Oh.
Upon becoming a Roughrider in December of 2015, Jones inherited a 3-15 team with a roster that included two other immensely popular players — defensive end John Chick and slotback Weston Dressler.
Chick and Dressler were released in January of last year, when the Roughriders cited financial reasons. Chick resurfaced with Hamilton and was named a CFL all-star. Dressler, as a Winnipeg Blue Bomber, amassed 1,003 receiving yards in only 14 games.
Jones, for his part, signed several CFL veterans in the winter of 2016. Many of them didn’t even come close to being moderately successful.
On a brighter note, the Roughriders have become highly adept at one thing — issuing prepared statements. The latest carefully crafted communique arrived Friday.
“The Saskatchewan Roughriders have been notified of the league’s decision and accept their disciplinary action,” said Jones, who by now has the phrasing down pat.
“We have been forthcoming with the CFL office on any information they have requested. We look forward to moving on and continuing to prepare for the 2017 season.”
At last word, nobody was planning a parade.