Lawler welcomed back with open arms

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This article was published 18/07/2023 (846 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers locker room erupted in celebration when Kenny Lawler walked through its doors for the first time in nearly 50 days.

The star receiver has been unable to play or practise with the team since June 1 when his name was added to the suspended list due to immigration issues stemming from a previous drunk-driving conviction.

Lawler got the call he was waiting for Friday when he was informed there were no more hiccups with his temporary resident and work permit papers and that he’d be allowed to play Thursday’s home game against the Edmonton Elks (0-6).

After weeks of running and training by himself, Lawler took the field for Tuesday’s closed practice session at IG Field and spoke to reporters afterwards.

“It’s definitely a blessing to be back here with the guys. The love that I received coming back into the locker room and stepping onto the field was great,” said the 29-year-old from California.

“I was embraced by hugs and just great spirits. I’m just ready to get back to work, the guys are ready to work, and it’s an unbelievable feeling.”

The Bombers initially expected Lawler to miss three or four games, not six. He wouldn’t get into the specifics as to why things took longer, but he did thank immigration lawyer Sofia Mirza and Bombers president and CEO Wade Miller for helping resolve the matter.

Lawler was arrested for the incident on October 2021 during his first tenure in Winnipeg. He was the CFL’s leading receiver at the time, and despite what happened, he still went on to become the highest paid non-quarterback in the league that off-season when Edmonton inked him to a one-year, $305,000 deal.

Lawler, a key piece in Winnipeg’s 2019 and 2021 Grey Cup-winning squads, signed a two-year contract to return to the Bombers in February.

“It’s just really the legal side. We wanted to be on the field as soon as possible, but as far as the legal side, it’s a process and we just had to go week to week until they gave us the information that we needed,” said Lawler, who remained in Winnipeg during his suspension.

On the football side of things, Lawler’s arrival is massive for a 4-2 Bombers side that’s coming off a disheartening 31-28 overtime loss to the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday. Receiver Rasheed Bailey believes there’s more to it than that, though.

“It’s been hard. I feel like I’ve been wearing the same weight that he’s been holding because that’s my brother. And when it’s your brother, you try to take some of that pain away by being there for him, by supporting him, by just trying to be involved in the situation and help out in any way that I could,” said Bailey.

“To be honest, in my truth, it feels like a weight has been lifted off of me and all of us just to move forward and do what we came here to do. I feel like I’m smiling extra because I got one of my partners in crime back and I’m excited about that.”

Lawler said he’s been working hard and that he doesn’t feel like he needs to be eased back into things. Judging by what he saw on Tuesday, head coach Mike O’Shea agrees.

“I walked out at practice and somebody threw him a ball and as I sort of glanced over, he caught it by the tip of the football one handed. It was awesome,” said O’Shea.

“The only thing you can’t obviously mimic in training, and I know he’s been training hard, is the idea of going to the ground, being tackled, going to the ground, and getting up repeatedly. You can’t train that so I’m sure he’ll be a little tired, but I know that adrenaline of being able to play the game he’s loved for a long time is going to carry him through.”

In the big picture, his mistake and the consequences that came from it taught Lawler a valuable lesson.

“The greatest lesson is to not take anything for granted. That’s really what I walked out of that situation really learning and really appreciating,” said Lawler. “Day by day, I just don’t take things for granted with anything.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

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