Penalty shows CFL not serious about CTE

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/09/2023 (772 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

‘What an absolutely moronic penalty by Saskatchewan. Head-butting Zach Collaros well after the play was dead?!” — Mike McIntyre, via X, Sept. 3

The Labour Day Classic, only days ago in Regina, was debased by a bush-league cheap shot delivered by Saskatchewan Roughrider lineman Pete Robertson. But what was even cheaper was the non-decision made by the ref.

It was a sports crime in broad daylight, a brazen headbutt assault on the Blue Bombers quarterback — and no flag on the play. The CFL command centre decided to give the Riders a penalty. But they allowed the Rider to stay in the game. A day later, the league gave him a one-game suspension.

The league talks a good game about protecting the quarterback. No sport in the world is as dependent on a single position the way football depends on the quarterback, especially the Canadian game. The three-down game requires that the quarterback have a larger toolkit than what’s required in the four-down NFL game. The Canadian game requires a more versatile and improvisational quarterback.

But because the CFL quarterback needs to do more scrambling away from the protection of the pocket, he is at greater risk of injury and, unfortunately, that often means a head injury. The CFL has in the past pledged to play rough with those who take unnecessary shots at the quarterback. But talk is cheap and the talk is tested when it comes to cheap shots — none cheaper or more dangerous than a headbutt.

Once upon a time, we deployed euphemisms for players taking headshots and suffering concussion consequences. We used to talk about guys getting their bells rung. But the truth is those aren’t church bells being rung. They are brains being concussed every time they are given a shot. The severe risk is chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a permanent condition that is disabling. Many with CTE suffer early dementia.

At the top of this column, you saw Mike McIntyre reacting to what saw on his screen. The Free Press, to its credit, would not print my reaction to the same play. Nor would I want them to. My brain was volcanic. There was four-letter lava everywhere in my living room.

I detested the headbutt, I recoiled when the flag wasn’t thrown and despised the decision not to throw the Rider lineman right out of Mosaic stadium. If my emotions governed the CFL, the headbutting lineman would have had his head handed to him, metaphorically. That would have meant an immediate suspension from the game, followed by a suspension for the rest of the season.

Either the CFL is serious about CTE or it isn’t. Because of the reaction from Blue Bombers senior management, not to mention football fans, the league did make a decision the day after the game to suspend the lineman for one game. That would be Saturday’s Banjo Bowl in Winnipeg. The lineman will miss the game. But a one-game suspension is a tepid statement. It says the league still isn’t serious enough about cracking down on reckless behavior.

Zach Collaros is a superstar. But he has had to leave games multiple times after taking a shot above the shoulders. He has no idea precisely what life will be like for him after football. How severe will be headaches be? How effective will medication be? Will there be issues around addiction and/or dementia?

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Life is a mystery for all of us. But there is no mystery about one thing. Shots to the head, including the insane head butt five days ago, do damage to the most important organ we have. It’s not a bell. It’s a brain.

TSN broadcaster Matt Dunigan holds the CFL record for most passing yards in a game. He was quarterbacking Winnipeg 29 seasons ago when he passed for 713 yards. Dunnigan has no idea how many times his brain was concussed over the course of his career, leading five different CFL teams to winning seasons. But there is not a day that goes by where he isn’t paying a price for having been a quarterback.

If you’ve never known an athlete who has had “his bell rung,” what happened in Regina five days ago, may not mean much to you personally. Here’s hoping that the only ring you hear is coming from a phone.

Charles Adler is a long-time political commenter and podcaster.

charles@charlesadler.com