PLAYER SAFETY FIGHT ESCALATES OVER SUSPENSION
Players union takes exception to CFL boss publicly criticizing appeal of two-game ban
There won’t be a winner declared any time soon in a rapidly escalating fight over player safety in the Canadian Football League.
In a radical departure from the norm, commissioner Randy Ambrosie chastised the CFL Players Association publicly on Wednesday evening for appealing a two-game suspension handed to Hamilton linebacker Simoni Lawrence for a Week 1 head hit on Saskatchewan quarterback Zach Collaros.
“We should embrace a shared responsibility to do all we can to punish and deter any play that crosses the line,” Ambrosie said in a news release. “It is disappointing that the union has decided to use a legal process, at considerable time and expense, to defend an offending player instead of standing up for the player hurt on the play. Let’s use that time and money to instead work together on new ways to promote and protect all players’ safety.”
The CFLPA responded vehemently on Thursday morning and it became immediately obvious that the collective bargaining agreement, signed in May after months of negotiations over a host of issues led by player safety, didn’t settle things between the two “partners.” Not by a long shot.
“The commissioner’s public attack on the process and the rights allotted to all CFL players, as mutually agreed to in the collective agreement, is both disappointing and unhelpful,” the CFLPA said in an unsigned news release. “Our commitment to player safety must be balanced by our duty to ensure every player receives fair representation when these situations happen. Generally, players have not been treated equally and therefore unfairly by the process the commissioner currently follows in these instances.
“The commissioner’s gratuitous attack on the rights of players is an attempt to gain a public relations advantage during a difficult situation. Just like player safety, he says the right things in public, but the league under his leadership acts quite differently when it comes to implementing change.
“On multiple occasions, including our recent collective negotiations, we proposed the CFL adopt a system, currently used with success in the NFL, that would introduce fair and transparent protocols for players facing supplemental discipline. The process would be more equitable for players, streamline decisions and remove the subjective and inconsistent discipline in the hands of the commissioner. This process would also provide a binding decision.
“Our proposal was rejected by the CFL, leaving the CFLPA to choose between its members, one injured and the other suspended.”
That’s a lot to unpack. But it’s clear the CFLPA doesn’t want the commissioner to have the last word on supplemental discipline. That’s going to be a sore point for some time to come, unless and until the system changes.
What can’t get lost along the way is the need for players to stop putting one another at risk by virtue of their irresponsible, intentional and dangerous actions. The league simply has to act on hits like the one Lawrence levelled on Collaros.
They took into account his status as a first-time offender and his public contrition, but wanted to send a clear, stern message on a player health issue — concussions — that has been front and centre in collision sports for a long time.
The punishment of two game cheques is pretty stiff for a firsttime offender. But Collaros was sliding, which means he had given himself up, and the first point of contact was his head. That’s dirty.
No doubt leery of an appeal, and a chance to claim the moral high ground, Ambrosie buttressed the suspension with several points of context, including the fact that the CFLPA and CFL elevated player safety to the No. 1 issue during CBA talks.
“All of us, league and players, need to take and support strong action to promote and protect player health and safety, and we need to work together,” Ambrosie wrote.
But there are obviously agenda items on both sides of this fight that prevent the two sides from working together. For the CFL, it’s about punishment and deterrence and maintaining control of player conduct. For the CFLPA, it’s about elevating their voice on player safety and changing what they see as a flawed system.
“Clearly, there is a need for improvements to the disciplinary process,” the CFLPA release stated. “Until the league is willing to work towards a solution, the CFLPA will fight for all of its members. We will continue to advance player safety measures and at the same time represent players whose discipline is inconsistent with past practice. Our members expect no less.
“We encourage the commissioner to use this time to get serious about player safety and have productive discussions with us that are focused on designing a fair and transparent process that will deal with on field safety.”
And we aren’t even in Week 2 yet.
The punishment of two game cheques is pretty stiff . ... But Collaros was sliding, which means he had given himself up, and the first point of contact was his head.