Secrecy shrouds Hall of Fame

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/03/2023 (1277 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been nearly two weeks since the Canadian Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023 was announced and it didn’t take much long after for the debates to heat up.

The newest inductees, who will be formally added to The Hall during a special ceremony in Hamilton on Sept. 15, make up an impressive group, including linebacker Solomon Elimimian, defensive lineman John Bowman, defensive back Larry Crawford and Canadian offensive linemen Josh Bourke and Lloyd Fairbanks. Larry Smith and Jacques Dussault, two men who have left a major football footprint in Quebec, were selected as builders.

As is the case every time a new class is announced, there are people who find their way into my inbox with emails complaining about why someone made the cut and why others didn’t. Often, a reader pleads desperately for me to lobby on behalf of their favourite player, to right what they feel is an obvious wrong, especially when they find out I’ve been the president of the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) the last few years.

My answer is always the same: sorry, but I’ve got no power or influence when making those decisions. The usual follow-up question is then, well, who do I talk to?

I wish I could tell you but, alas, I cannot. Not because I don’t want to, I just don’t know the full answer. I know some people who are on the committee, but not everyone, and the reason for that is because they don’t want you to know.

About five or six years ago, the CFHOF decided to wipe the selection committee off its website. The reason being that, for some, the inevitable criticism that comes with such a subjective process proved too much to bear.

If you want to voice your displeasure, who better than to someone who has real say?

Keeping the selection committee secret is flawed at best and, at worst, gutless. It’s bad enough that the individual votes aren’t made public, even worse you don’t even know who’s on the committee.

The group — which ranges between nine and 15 members and is made up of people who have played, coached, managed or have been around the Canadian game a long time — should be confident about their picks. If they’re not, they shouldn’t be making them.

Being open about the process would also instil greater trust with the public and prevent any personal vendettas from influencing decisions. As for the criticism, anyone who votes in any professional league knows it’s part of the honour, and the noise from angry fans eventually dissipates over time.

Now, let’s get into the latest edition of CFL Rundown, where we look back on the weeks that were in the three-down loop and discuss all the latest developments.

1) It should also be noted that last week the three newest inductees to be added to the media wing of the CFHOF were announced, a trio that includes sportswriter Vicki Hall, broadcaster and former CFL player Chris Schultz and long-time TSN producer Jon Hynes. Hall, who spent more than a decade covering the CFL, represents the first woman to be inducted, while Schultz will be honoured posthumously after his untimely death in 2021 at the age of 61. Hynes has been a mainstay at CFL on TSN, where he’s been the lead producer for 800 telecasts, including the last 14 Grey Cups. While I got you Jon, can we pretty please add the graphic for each team’s timeouts?

2) With the XFL now up and running and the USFL about to kick off its second consecutive season, there’s once again fear that it might water-down the talent in the CFL. It’s difficult to say it won’t, but I’m not nearly as worried as others seem to be, and it’s for reasons beyond the fact that spring football hasn’t exactly been a successful endeavour in recent times. Opportunity is opportunity and there are only so many places to play. The CFL will always have bodies and when you consider the number of football graduates each year, in Canada and the U.S., supply will always be higher than demand.

3) Kyle Walters promised there would be kicking competition at training camp, and the Blue Bombers general manager delivered this week, inking Appalachian State kicker Chandler Staton. Staton spent five seasons with the Mountaineers, converting a modest 79 per cent (64-of-81) of his field goals. But his best season came in his senior year, making good on all but one of his 21 attempts, en route to being named first-team All-Sun Belt Conference, first-team All-American and semi-finalist for the Groza Award, which is given to the nation’s top kicker.

4) I’ve been saying this for weeks now, but the Bombers need to bring in a proven CFL kicker. Someone who has been there and done it enough that you know you can trust him. That’s what Winnipeg had with Justin Medlock and Sergio Castillo, and both resulted in Grey Cup victories. If the Bombers do go this route, it will likely have to be via a trade.

5) I pondered in the last CFL Rundown what might be the ulterior motives for billionaire Pierre Karl Péledeau after he purchased the Alouettes. Looks like he’s already making moves, including signing a multi-year partnership with Videotron. Péledeau is the CEO of Quebecor, the company that owns Videotron, with the new agreement expected to enhance the fan experience during home games and will also be the title sponsor on the Als home and away jerseys. Bringing in a solid sponsor, regardless of where it comes from, is a good thing.

6) Speaking of Péledeau, he’s made his first major hiring since taking over the Alouettes, bringing on – and back – Mark Weightman to replace Mario Cecchini as the club’s next president and CEO. Weightman was the team’s president from 2013-16, just one of several stops over his career in amateur and professional sports. He worked as president of the Laval Rocket, the AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, as well as a senior marketing advisor with the Linköping Hockey Club in the Swedish Elite League and, most recently, the president and CEO of the Trois-Rivières Lions of the ECHL. His appointment came as a bit of a surprise, as many believed the job was either going to go to Annie Larouche, who once worked on the Als executive and is now the vice-president of operations of the Montreal Alliance of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, or Martin Tremblay, who runs the sports and entertainment portfolio of Quebecor.

7) The Saskatchewan Roughriders were dealt some bad news, with receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker undergoing hip surgery that will sideline him for the start of the 2023 season. The injury had apparently been bothering the 24-year-old for a couple of years and rather than continuing to play through it, risking making it worse, Schaffer-Baker opted to repair the labral tear. With NFL aspirations — the Mississauga native worked out for several clubs over the off-season but wasn’t offered a contract — it would make sense to get the surgery now and use the Roughriders athletic staff to help in the recovery. Let’s just hope he comes back soon enough to help out a Riders offence that went through a massive overhaul the last couple of months.

8) More on the injury front: in an interview with 3downnation, B.C. Lions GM Neil McEvoy said he doesn’t expect DL Steve “Stove” Richardson to play in 2023 after missing all of last season with an Achille’s tear. Richardson made a name for himself with the Bombers before signing a two-year deal with B.C ahead of the 2022 campaign. He worked hard to return for playoffs last season, but suffered a major setback, putting his career in danger.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton