Riders’ Mitchell on short leash with CFL
TORONTO — The CFL and the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be keeping a close eye on controversial defensive lineman Khalif Mitchell, league commissioner Jeffrey Orridge said Thursday.
Any “inappropriate behaviour” from Mitchell, who has been sanctioned twice for violating the league’s social media policy, “will result in his immediate dismissal,” Orridge said in a statement.
The Riders signed Mitchell to their practice roster Wednesday, a move that drew criticism from Canadian Jewish organizations.
Mitchell hasn’t played since being released by the Montreal Alouettes in June 2015. He was fined a month earlier over antiSemitic posts on his Twitter account, which included a link to a Holocaust denial video.
Orridge said the CFL will be monitoring Mitchell’s social media posts.
“Oursocialmediapolicyexpressly prohibits a current player, team or league employee from using social media, including the retweeting or reposting of someone else’s comments, to condone discrimination, harassment or violence,” Orridge said in a statement.
“We too will monitor any commentary he may make as a member of our league. Such comments, which put the league’s reputation as a progressive and positive member of the community in question, will not be tolerated.”
After being fined in 2015, Mitchell apologized in a joint statement by the CFL Players’ Association and B’nai Brith Canada, saying it was “a learning moment for me.” He agreed to work with B’nai Brith, a Jewish human rights organization, to “educate myself about this and other human rights matters.”
But Shimon Koffler Fogel, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said Wednesday there was no evidence Mitchell has learned from his mistakes.
“We are deeply troubled that Mitchell is continuing to spread messages of hate against the Jewish people,” he said in a statement. “The Montreal Alouettes and the Canadian Football League did the right thing in 2015 by denouncing Mitchell’s hateful tweets and levying a fine against him for his troubling behaviour.
“Clearly, Mitchell has not learned from his past mistakes. We have engaged with the CFL and the Saskatchewan Roughriders and they have assured us they are investigating.”