CFL players want return to field

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This article was published 04/03/2021 (1671 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Whether or not there’ll be a 2021 CFL season remains to be seen, but if you ask the players, they’re doing their part to make it happen.

The Canadian Football League Players Association held their annual general meeting virtually last weekend and the message was clear: they want to return to the gridiron this year and play a full 18-game season.

But considering the pace of the vaccine rollout north of the border, it’s hard to say with certainty that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will open the CFL regular season against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on June 10 as planned. Unless fans are allowed back in the stands to some extent, it’s highly unlikely football will be played as early as June.

“It’s very difficult to speculate. I mean, I know what our goal is. It was a clear mandate from our group that if it’s possible to play 18 CFL games then our members would like to do so,” CFLPA executive director Brian Ramsay told the Free Press.

“We wanted to play last year as many games as possible. We were quite open about that and it hasn’t changed. I think it’s important to understand all scenarios but the hard part is you can’t speculate.”

In a recent interview, commissioner Randy Ambrosie wouldn’t guarantee a season will happen but did say he’s “very confident” that the nine-team league will be back on the field in 2021. Ramsay was asked if his confidence level is at the same level as Ambrosie’s. Last year, the CFL and CFLPA agreed to play a shortened season in a bubble in Winnipeg, but the league didn’t have the financial resources to pull it off.

“I’m confident the CFLPA will do whatever needs to be done (to play),” said Ramsay.

“Going through last summer, we were successful in finding a return-to-play protocol that was accepted by the government and we were successful in working with the CFL to find accommodations to a collective agreement and I’m confident that we can get that done again.”

This year’s AGM was not only different for being online, but also for the fact that Ambrosie was a part of the festivities as a guest speaker. Ambrosie spoke for over an hour on Saturday afternoon.

“We had a frank off-the-record conversation. You know, I’m not prepared to share the details of that conversation, but I think the purpose of it is meant to strengthen the relationship between the CFL membership, the CFLPA and the CFL. I think (it was) a step in the right direction,” Ramsay said.

The two sides are going to need to continue making steps in the right direction in order to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement.

The current CBA doesn’t expire until spring of 2022, but it’s well-known that adjustments will need to be made in order for a 2021 campaign to be feasible.

“Right now we’re sitting with the CFL and asking the question: ‘What needs to be in place for 2021 and what changes need to be made?’ The CFL needs to let us know what it’s going to take to make sure our members are back to work this year,” he said.

The CFL and CFLPA have been busy working on their return-to-play protocols that were recently submitted to the six provinces for approval. If they get the thumbs up from Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan, the protocols will then be reviewed by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Ramsay said they’re unsure when they’ll hear back on their document.

Add it to the list of unknowns at this point.

“Coming off the 2020 we had, our members are trying to seek some clarity in a very unclear world right now and they understand that… I think one of the important things is to ensure that there is constant two-way communication and you’re sharing that information so you can at best answer the questions as they arise,” he said.

“I think the constant dialogue we’ve had since almost a year ago now and the regular meetings we’ve had throughout helps put at ease some of that uncertainty. But we know that we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic and we’re working through that.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31