2023/2024 CFL (Non Bombers) Off Season News

[SpeedFlex27]

3 hours ago, 17to85 said:

yeah it's quite frankly offensive to everyone. Women just have to put up with being harassed and sorry men, you're just animals with no self control. 

 

No the reason some men act like this is because they've never faced consequences for it. It's not OK to be a shitty person and the sooner crap like "well boys will be boys" goes away the better off the entirety of society will be. 

The thing is, Pinball & Dinwiddie could create the best environment for a woman working with their players making it as safe as safe could be. Built in with all the checks & balances trying to keep female employees safe from harm from fools like Kelly creating a toxic working environment. The sad truth is that there'll always be someone who will think he's above it all & will take advantage of the situation. That he believed he could get away with sexual advances or harassment of a female employee is ludicrous. This time it's Chad Kelly who thought he was above it all. Now, it's come back on him.

In that situation, you'd hope at the very least that the players would help police the situation to stop it if they witnessed it. That coaches & management would do what they have to do as a deterrent for it not to happen again. Even if that deterrent  means termination of the team's highest paid player in Kelly. Or an Assistant GM in John Murphy who has done stupid things in the past, been suspended for it & who needs to be dealt with again. Permanently.

On the flip side, what if a player is being harassed by a trainer or a coach like what happened with the Blackhawks in Chicago? There needs to be protection for innocent players as well from authority figures.

I can't see situation this ending well.

Edited February 23 by SpeedFlex27

[wbbfan]

14 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Spin spin spin spin.

Pos organization hires pos people and fans refuse to see it. 

Yep. 
 

19 minutes ago, Noeller said:

Lots of demerits to be handed out in this thread..... clear rules on "no politics allowed", and very clearly the politics have been brought up......... 

idk how or why that keeps happening. 

[HardCoreBlue]

53 minutes ago, bluto said:

Nobody was fired. A contract wasn't renewed.

I know that's hair-splitting, but it is relevant.

 

And if it was only because of the alleged harassment and the Accuser can prove that, then they would win in court.

But as I suspect that actually proving that would be a monumental hill to climb in a court room, her counsel went for plan B. Trial by media.

 

Still think that they could have gotten the full amount they are currently asking for had they just asked. 

There is a 0% chance that MLSE/Argos legal department would have not taken this very seriously and seized the chance to pay the asking price.

 

How do you know all of this or are you just presenting your opinion as fact?

Is it MLSE/Argo's legal department have a history of cutting cheques for things to go away that would tell you why not this time, ie never got to them?

Cuz if so, that's a much larger issue of what's happening here. 

[WBBFanWest]

But, but, but, Bluto's a great guy...  Anyone who would put a child's game played by grown men ahead of wanting to see that if they did something as despicable as this is described to have happened is, in my opinion, not such a great guy.  When you have a daughter have to deal with sexual violence, there can be zero tolerance for this kind of ****.  

[voodoochylde]

Guys .. 

I'll ask this once (because I sincerely hope you all can keep to the spirit of the rule that Rich has put in place for this board):  PLEASE try to keep this discussion apolitical. 

Appreciate it.

(as an FYI, I've pruned a few posts in this thread)

[JohnnyAbonny]

Throw the book at Kelly and John Murphy. There’s no place in society today for that kind of crap. 

Especially Murphy, enough’s enough already. The guy’s just an *******. 

[JuranBoldenRules]

3 hours ago, Booch said:

curious as to when this occurred...obviously during the season

The week of the East Final.

It's all in there.  East Final was Nov 11 so the major escalation of events was that week.  Remember the game was on Saturday.

Quote

 

She alleges that Kelly's harassment escalated in November 2023.

“A member of the Argonauts informed [her] that on Nov. 5, 2023 (SUNDAY OF DIV FINAL WEEK), while on the team bus, [Kelly] publicly accused [her] of engaging in romantic relations with another team member,” the lawsuit reads.

The coach says she then privately confronted Kelly on Nov. 6, 2023 (MONDAY).

“Instead of addressing the concerns, Chad reacted with aggression, screaming, cursing, and waving his hands at [her],” the lawsuit says, adding that she asked Kelly not to contact her unless it was work-related.

An hour after their conversation, the coach ate breakfast with a group of at least eight others, including her supervisor, Usama Mujtaba, the lawsuit says, adding that when Kelly saw her, he yelled derogatory words across the room at her and stated he couldn't wait until she was fired.  STILL MONDAY

The coach wrote in her lawsuit that she then informed Mujtaba and Argos assistant general manager John Murphy about what had happened.

“Murphy responded by stating that [she] should not have spoken to [Kelly] and that she has now ‘opened a can of worms that didn’t need to be opened,’” the lawsuit says.  STILL MONDAY

 

She said that while she was supposed to lead a team yoga class that afternoon, she was told that someone else would take over since Kelly would be attending. After she went to the weight room, Mujtaba approached her and told her to go home in case Kelly showed up, the lawsuit says.

“On Nov. 10, 2023 (FRIDAY, DAY BEFORE EAST FINAL), [the coach] learned that Chad had made a threatening remark, suggesting she was fortunate he hadn't physically harmed her,” the lawsuit says.

“Despite [her] supervisor witnessing parts of the incident and [the coach] reporting the ongoing harassment, the Argonauts failed to take any action to address the situation, leaving [her] in a distressing and unsupported position within the team.”

The coach said she was informed that her contract would not be renewed on Jan. 29.

 

 

[Noeller]

2 minutes ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

The week of the East Final.

It's all in there.  East Final was Nov 11 so the major escalation of events was that week.  Remember the game was on Saturday.

 

This was my thought... Why they came out and **** their pants against Montreal. 

[Booch]

57 minutes ago, Noeller said:

This was my thought... Why they came out and **** their pants against Montreal. 

They were a smoke and mirror team all yr tho...flawed in many areas...character up and down the line obviously from management to team leaders becoming apparent

 

 

[Stickem]

1 hour ago, Booch said:

They were a smoke and mirror team all yr tho...flawed in many areas...character up and down the line obviously from management to team leaders becoming apparent

 

 

ADD to that an offseason where some of the argo players picked up on what had happened, (we know something like this spreads like wild fire in a locker room) AND could be a reason why some of their players wanted to head for the exit in fa.....Can't say that scenario is what has taken place, but the sequence of events has definitely a stigma attached to it....considering the latest revelations

Edited February 24 by Stickem

[Mark H.]

4 hours ago, Noeller said:

This was my thought... Why they came out and **** their pants against Montreal. 

Yeah...that seems to explain a lot.

[SpeedFlex27]

3 minutes ago, Stickem said:

ADD to that an offseason where some of the argo payers picked up on what had happened, (we know something like this spreads like fire in a locker room) AND could be a reason why some of their players wanted to head for the exit in fa.....Can't say that scenario is what has taken place, but the sequence of events has definitely a stigma attached to it....considering the latest revelations

I'd say most Argos probably thought it's not their problem & didn't want to get involved. More money elsewhere probably made all of them leave. 

[Stickem]

2 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

I'd say most Argos probably thought it's not their problem & didn't want to get involved. More money elsewhere probably made all of them leave. 

Oh the money is always a big draw but having a somewhat harmonious locker room to be successful in 24' would also help

[rebusrankin]

So the CFL reigning MOP is accused of this. Can you imagine if it was the NFL or NBA MVP and what a firestorm that would be?

[Booch]

4 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

So the CFL reigning MOP is accused of this. Can you imagine if it was the NFL or NBA MVP and what a firestorm that would be?

Would be like a storm...of fire 🤣

But yes...could you imagine the press it be getting??

[TrueBlue4ever]

18 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

So the CFL reigning MOP is accused of this. Can you imagine if it was the NFL or NBA MVP and what a firestorm that would be?

 

13 minutes ago, Booch said:

Would be like a storm...of fire 🤣

But yes...could you imagine the press it be getting??

You mean like Payton Manning in 2003 and winning the MVP and settling a sexual assault and defamation civil suit? Wait, you didn’t hear about it?

[Doublezero]

Stamps GM Dave Dickenson hires his brother as a consultant https://3downnation.com/2024/02/23/former-riders-head-coach-craig-dickenson-hired-by-brother-dave-as-consultant-with-stampeders/

[Noeller]

The fact that the league hasn't said boo word one yet about Kelly and the Argos is classic CFL. Not so much as a whisper about "we are aware of the allegations and are looking into next steps"...... SOMETHING....

[Jesse]

34 minutes ago, Noeller said:

The fact that the league hasn't said boo word one yet about Kelly and the Argos is classic CFL. Not so much as a whisper about "we are aware of the allegations and are looking into next steps"...... SOMETHING....

Right there in the 3down article:

“The league is aware of the legal claim that has been made by a former employee against the Toronto Argonauts and Mr. Kelly. The League is currently reviewing this matter but has no further comment at this time.”

[SpeedFlex27]

The league can't act on heresay or a lawsuit. This will have to go to court.

[Geebrr]

50 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

The league can't act on heresay or a lawsuit. This will have to go to court.

Thats not really true. They should do an investigation and if it came a to light that the Argos didn’t handle this properly they should be punished. 
 

 

[ShyGuy]

50 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

The league can't act on heresay or a lawsuit. This will have to go to court.

Why does it have to go to court?

Both the CFL and the Argos will definitely have a harassment policy. The CFL Contracts may have a character clause.

The courts are going to test: Is this a human rights offense? Was she wrongfully terminated?

 

What if everything that is recorded in the lawsuit happened exactly as described BUT the courts find that Kelly's actions didn't rise to the level of infringing on her human rights and due to the nature of her rolling contract the Argos were within their rights to not renew it. Does Kelly just get a pat on the back and told not to do it again or should their be consequences to someone's shitty actions. If you go directly to her (former) supervisor and he confirms that this is exactly what happens, don't you have grounds to act without hearing the courts?

[SpeedFlex27]

12 minutes ago, ShyGuy said:

Why does it have to go to court?

Both the CFL and the Argos will definitely have a harassment policy. The CFL Contracts may have a character clause.

The courts are going to test: Is this a human rights offense? Was she wrongfully terminated?

 

What if everything that is recorded in the lawsuit happened exactly as described BUT the courts find that Kelly's actions didn't rise to the level of infringing on her human rights and due to the nature of her rolling contract the Argos were within their rights to not renew it. Does Kelly just get a pat on the back and told not to do it again or should their be consequences to someone's shitty actions. If you go directly to her (former) supervisor and he confirms that this is exactly what happens, don't you have grounds to act without hearing the courts?

When a player has a 1.8 million dollar contract, I'm sure the assistant coach would have to prove her allegations that there was wrongdoing in court before Kelly's career is terminated as he could also turn around & sue the Argos. Anyway, she filed a lawsuit & now I'm sure Kelly & the Argos will file a countersuit. 

[ShyGuy]

14 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

When a player has a 1.8 million dollar contract, I'm sure the assistant coach would have to prove her allegations that there was wrongdoing in court before Kelly's career is terminated as he could also turn around & sue the Argos. Anyway, she filed a lawsuit & now I'm sure Kelly & the Argos will file a countersuit. 

The contracts aren't guaranteed. They'd be out his signing bonus. His career wouldn't be over, some other team would be able to sign him if they wanted to take the PR hit or attempt to rehab his image.

There is such a thing as a moral high ground if you believe in those kind of things. It would be the moral thing to terminate a sexual harasser despite being on the hook for his salary if the courts decided that.

 

[Fatty Liver]

Too funny.  Looking forward to a double Dickenson firing at the end of the season.

Former Riders head coach Craig Dickenson hired by brother Dave as consultant with Stampeders

https://3downnation.com/2024/02/23/former-riders-head-coach-craig-dickenson-hired-by-brother-dave-as-consultant-with-stampeders/