CFL to announce new drug testing company soon

By: Paul Wiecek Posted: 7:23 PM CDT Thursday, Jul. 2, 2015

The commissioner of the CFL says the league expects to announce it has secured a new company to administer the league’s drug testing program.

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The commissioner of the CFL says the league expects to announce it has secured a new company to administer the league’s drug testing program.

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The commissioner of the CFL says the league expects to announce it has secured a new company to administer the league’s drug testing program.

“I’d say weeks at most,” commissioner Jeffrey Orridge told reporters in Winnipeg late Thursday afternoon.

Last month, the CFL fired the previous agency that administrated their drug program — the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport — after senior CCES officials went public with concerns the program did not punish first time offenders harshly enough.

Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS files
CFL Commissioner Jeffrey Orridge. — Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS files CFL Commissioner Jeffrey Orridge.

“We’re in conversations right now with very reputable high level organizations,” said Orrdige. “We don’t anticipate any significant issues in locating one.”

Orridge — the 54-year-old former director of sports at CBC — also said talks will begin “within weeks” with the CFLPA on formulating a new drug policy for the league.

Orridge, who took over as CFL commissioner last winter, is in Winnipeg to take in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 2015 home opener against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (TSN).

The Bombers are 1-0 after a win in Saskatchewan last weekend while the Ticats are 0-1 after losing to the Calgary Stampeders last week on a last-second field goal.

The New York native said he was looking forward to seeing his first football game at Investors Group Field. “The stadium is really a fantastic place,” said Orridge. “You’ve got the rum hut, you’ve got social concourses. The facility is sparkling.”

Orridge was scheduled to perform the official coin toss Thursday night and members of the 1990 Bombers Grey Cup team — the last to win a championship in these parts –- were to be honoured before and during the game.

Orridge is also scheduled to take part in a halftime ceremony where 100 newly sworn Canadian citizens will be honoured.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek