Gurley vows to show Argos they made a big mistake

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This article was published 11/10/2016 (3287 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FOR Tori Gurley, it’s personal.

The 28-year-old was released by the Toronto Argonauts last week. The reason? Argos head coach Scott Milanovich said Gurley, along with three others who were shown the door, lacked the “preparation” and “attitude” desired in the locker room.

Gurley didn’t like that.

“Huge chip on my shoulder,” he said Tuesday following his first practice with the club. “I’m a competitor, first and foremost. Whenever someone tells me I’m not good enough to play for their team, I take that personal. It’s my opportunity to come out here and prove that I am worthy of playing on a team.”

For Gurley, who tied for the lead league with 10 touchdowns last season and led the Argos this year with five before being cut, it goes a little deeper than that.

“It fell back on my mother,” Gurley said. “I promised my mother when I left the house that I was going to be a great man, regardless of football — this is just a game — but just me in society. With some of those words the Argonauts decided to use against me and my peers, it made us seem like we were villains.

“You speak with anyone on that team, they’ll tell you what type of player I am and what type of man I am.”

Suffice to say, Gurley is happy to be a Blue Bomber.

“It’s very exciting, playing meaningful football. I’ve been up here from sun-up to sundown. It’s something I take pride in,” he said. “They have me here to come out and play so it’s my responsibility to learn the plays and go above and beyond. I’ve sat down with all the quarterbacks and receivers coach and we’re chipping away at it a little bit at a time.”

The University of South Carolina alum said he’ll do anything for the Bombers, right down to feeding the team hotdogs on game days if it came down to it.

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Of course, the team would rather have the 6-5 receiver dishing out touchdowns instead.

“He’s getting to know what we do out here, some understanding of the playbook,” head coach Mike O’Shea said. “He got some very valuable reps today. I don’t know if that translates into him being in lineup this week or not, but everyone around the league knows him well enough.”

O’Shea was sympathetic to Gurley’s situation Tuesday.

“When these things happen it can really shake a player,” he said. “They understand what they need to do. I don’t think he’s got any… there’s no residual effects of him playing there and his release. He’s pretty excited to be here and I’m sure he’s going to work hard to fit in.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @scottbilleck

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.