Roughrider Rule Troubles

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Sir Purrcival
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So I was kind of surprised that no one decided to comment on the latest brush with the league resulting in fines and penalties in the neighbourhood of $86000.00


I guess my thoughts on this are kind of two fold. It seems very troubling that by far and away 1 team seems to have more issues with league rules requiring sanction than all the others. It also says a lot about respect or lack therein for the rules, the game and fans around this league. I have read from our brethren in the green zone that this practice of stocking up on players is something that all teams do under the table and that they simply had the misfortune of being caught. Feels a bit like a weak deflecting of blame but that is another topic. I have no idea if this is true or not. I would welcome any input on this and I"m not quite sure how Bo Levi Mitchell fits into this as it seems he may have been the one who "outed" the Riders. How is that possible? Was he watching from somewhere?

All seems very sad.
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CardiacKid
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Take a look over in the CFL 2016 thread. There are a number of posts, including several by me. I was compelled to post as much as I did because I can't stand cheating, much less flagrant cheating.
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DanoT
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CardiacKid wrote:Take a look over in the CFL 2016 thread. There are a number of posts, including several by me. I was compelled to post as much as I did because I can't stand cheating, much less flagrant cheating.
It was a $60k fine and $26k shrinkage of the cap. Apparently the fine is based on the maximum that can be assessed by the comish: $25k plus $35k based on infractions. The investigation by the CFL has been going on for a couple of weeks but was not complete when Bo Mitchell's tweet made things public. Most of the players who obviously talk to each other knew what was going on. I imagine a lot of Rider players were not happy about the situation but fear of being cut prevented whistle blowing.

There was also a $15k fine last week for improper substitution (ignoring the ratio) in the game against the Lions. I'm not sure if the CFL has gone over the game film yet of the Riders vs Als to see if there were ratio violations in that one.

The CFL is still looking into $ paid to the "pre-practice squad" illegal players and money paid for housing them in two separate houses. So further fines and/or reduction to the cap is expected.

In the past some teams have had 1 or 2 extra players stick around town, but AFAIK nothing of this size involving 20 or so players. These days I think teams might stash a guy or two on a IR list with no real injuries but that is about all.

Part of the infractions involve longer than mandated practices, practicing players under contract along side "tryout guys" (who may have been around for weeks) who have no contract. And also having guys who are on the 6game injured list practicing when it is not allowed. An awful lot of cheating to produce only one win against the Redblacks.

Chris Jones has a reputation as being a maverick and a risk taker and he can now add "willing to cheat to win but not good enough at it to win or elude getting caught" to his resume. :wink:
Qman
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as far as i am concerned, allowing 6-gamers to practice is the a very meaningful violation ... thats a salary cap violation, big no-no rules wise and competitive issue.

the "pre-practice squad" -- who cares -- the aren't getting paid, probably never going to make pro ball, if one makes it the are better ready for cfl rules. next cba maybe the league should allow it, wally mentioned he thinks practice squads are too small right now.
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cromartie
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Riderfans in 2000s: We're a poor prairie franchise, we can't afford to exceed the salary cap.
Riderfans after being told they were the biggest violators of the SMS: So what, everyone does it.

Crap like this couldn't happen to a more deserving fanbase.
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Rammer
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20 players over the roster limit isn't sustainable for most teams, so that gives/gave the Riders a decide advantage over other teams circumventing the league's attempt at a level playing field and the SMS. More importantly it involves money paid out that should be counted against the SMS that I understand wasn't being reported. Secondly you have to stop Chris Jones at some point, as he isn't the type to stop there given the current record.

If a deflated ball can cause a supreme court to get involved, certainly an extra 20 players and circumventing the SMS fine of $86K isn't much in comparison.
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DanoT
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I was not surprised that the CFL fined Bo Mitchell for his tweet that publicly exposed the Rider cheating because it also exposed the fact that the CFL investigation had been going on for weeks with knowledge by the Riders but not known to the public. :thdn:

That plane load of illegal wetbacks that flew of of Regina shortly after Bo's tweet might still be practicing, and other violations occurring under CFL supervision, er I mean investigation if not for Bo. :good:

Until now I was meh on Bo but I am a fan now.
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