Don’t run afoul of footwear police
CFL: Lions’ Yell perplexed after blacked-out Nike cleats cost him thousands in fines Mike Beamish
Some people believe the Nike Swoosh is the most globe-girdling symbol in marketing history, better known than the Spencerian script of Coca-Cola or McDonald’s golden arches.
It’s enough the Swoosh doesn’t even need a corporate name beside it: It screams Nike. And the CFL takes a grim view of any player in their Adidas-sponsored world who wears equipment of the rival company headquartered in Beaverton, Ore.
Quicker than you can say Swoosh, B.C. Lions cornerback Ronnie Yell is on the hook for $3,000 in fines levied by the league for wearing cleats manufactured by Nike.
Yell, a bright young man who is nobody’s fool, was docked $1,000 for his initial transgression for playing in Nike shoes with the logo blacked out. A second incident, last game, in which Yell tried to apply more black with a Sharpie to obscure the offending logo, emboldened the CFL to raise the ante with another penalty, this time $2,000.
Already out a cool grand — CFL sanctions are applied directly to a player’s paycheque — Yell is appealing the second fine, which he suggests is overly punitive.
“I’m appealing because I don’t think I deserve that fine,” Yell said following a Lions practice before Friday’s game against the Calgary Stampeders. “I can’t let that one go. That’s just too much money. $250, $500 — OK, I can see that. But they’re taking away a player’s livelihood, which is inexcusable. We’re putting our lives on the line every single week.”
While the Lions and Stamps can be bitter rivals — and first place in the West Division is at stake in the regular-season rubber match this week at B.C. Place Stadium — players are also union members with common concerns. They’re capable of standing with each other whenever the brotherhood is threatened by a perceived injustice.
After Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was sanctioned and fined by the league for revealing a truth on social media — that the Saskatchewan Roughriders were excessively stockpiling practice roster players in contravention of league rules, exposing a dirty little secret widely known throughout the CFL — Yell is wondering what the parameters are. See no evil, speak no evil?
“I saw his tweet,” Yell said, referring to Mitchell’s comment on Twitter that set off a Prairie firestorm before the Stamps-Roughriders game Aug. 13 at Mosaic Stadium. “I didn’t know he got fined until yesterday. He’s a player. He’s a free human being. I honestly feel Bo is a professional. He wouldn’t say anything out of character or do something where he was attacking people for no reason. I think all he was getting at is that he wants fairness.”
Yell could use some himself. What is unusual about his dresscode transgression is not only the amount of the fine, but also that it has nothing to do with player safety. Indeed, before the misdemeanour was exposed by the CFL, would any in-stadium fan or TV viewer on TSN — not equipped with infrared goggles or image-enhance technology — have noticed his blacked-out Swoosh?
Earlier this season, Lions nose tackle Mic’hael Brooks was fined $1,000 for injuring Riders QB Darian Durant (he suffered a sprained ankle), even though Brooks said the league acknowledged in a subsequent letter that he tried to avoid rolling into Durant. Brooks’ appeal of the penalty is ongoing.
“Ronnie’s fine is really ridiculous,” Brooks said. “I don’t understand the guidelines or the process with these fines. If you call my incident a late hit, that’s what it was. But it was my first offence. Ronnie got fined $2,000 for his second incident — over shoes. It’s crazy.”
Not all Lions are in agreement with Brooks, however.
Starting this year, Adidas became the official outfitter and licensing company of the CFL, assuming the partnership formerly held by Reebok. Adidas is Nike’s most formidable competitor. The sportswear giants get along like Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
“They’re cracking down really hard right now — and Adidas is a sponsor we want to support,” said Rolly Lumbala, the Lions’ player rep. “If you choose to wear another company’s shoes, you better make sure its (logo is) blacked out. There are certain (uniform) rules. Ronnie can still come to me and appeal the fine. The amount? What can I say? The sponsor is putting a lot of money into our league. At the same time, players want to be in gear with which they’re comfortable. There’s always that debate, right?”
For Yell, there is no argument Friday night. His shoes will be the officially licensed product of Adidas, though he feels more comfortable with Nike. He simply can’t afford another run-in with the footwear police.
“I want to maximize my performance,” he said. “I’m not trying to go against the (Adidas) world. Some guys just can’t wear certain cleats. Guys around the league wear Nike and don’t get fined. I just know I don’t need another (fine).”