Two games for life-altering groin punch not enough by CFL - Toronto Star
Two games for B.C.'s Josh Hagerty for low blows to Montreal rookie Liam Talbot is wholly insufficient.
Alouettes rookie Liam Talbot scores in a Sept. 4 game against the B.C. Lions in Montreal. Last Saturday, two low blows in a rematch against the Lions sent Talbot to hospital days later.
Bruce Arthur is a columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @bruce_arthur.
The first time Josh Hagerty punched Liam Talbot in the groin, the play was all but over for both of them — the kick return in last Saturday’s game between the B.C. Lions and Montreal Alouettes had already flowed to the other side of the field. You keep playing, of course, keep fighting, keep competing. And Hagerty smashed the Alouettes rookie with a low blow, and Talbot pulled Hagerty to the ground. Things happen in football.
The second time Hagerty punched Talbot in the groin, the ball was also far away; they were just two Canadian athletes handfighting the way they had been taught from the time they were young men, except Hagerty again swung low. If you watch the tape, both swings are a little grainy, but they don’t look like the more typical uppercut swim move to break contact with a blocker. They look intentional.
This is not football. There need to be consequences for this kind of unacceptable play that puts players’ safety at risk. @CFL pic.twitter.com/yAcx7ByBmJ
No penalty was called, the Lions won 48-29 and Talbot finished the game. But as reported by the invaluable CFL website 3DownNation, that’s where things got scary. A few days later, Talbot went to hospital and underwent surgery, and he is out for the season. In fact, sources told the website the injury was “life-altering, with potential consequences extending well beyond Talbot’s football career. Specific details regarding his prognosis are being withheld out of respect for his medical privacy.”
And Hagerty, who is in his sixth season as a sixth-round draft pick out of the University of Saskatchewan, was suspended for two games. If 3DownNation is right, this feels shockingly low. And because it was a groin punch, the incident has attracted some attention.
Look, football is still suspicious about suspensions as a concept. Suspensions for on-field misbehaviour used to be vanishingly rare: the first multi-game penalty in NFL history for an on-field act didn’t occur until 1986, when Charles Martin body-slammed Chicago’s Jim McMahon on a late hit. The first suspension for a helmet-to-helmet hit didn’t come until 2002 (Rodney Harrison, Jerry Rice).
Dirtiest play has to be Charles Martin of the Packers body slamming Jim McMahon in ‘86 to end his season and derail the Bears hopes to defend their Super Bowl title https://t.co/WmntZmIRVQ pic.twitter.com/WZwKPcMPq1
And in the CFL, two games is the longest suspension for a single on-field act in league history. Khalif Mitchell in 2012 (for hyperextending the arm of offensive lineman Simeon Rottier), Simoni Lawrence in 2019 (headshot on QB Zach Collaros) and Garrett Marino in 2022 (for a low hit that injured QB Jeremiah Masoli), though the league tacked on two separate single-game suspensions for a racial slur and a separate illegal tackle. In each case, the suspension can be appealed to an arbitrator; that was the main reason the CFL broke up Marino’s suspensions.
In this case, two games for Hagerty seems wholly insufficient, and is about as severe as anything the league has ever done. As Alouettes fullback Marco Dubois said, this kind of play is unacceptable even before you find out about the injury.
Listen, nobody should have any illusions left about football. It’s a beautifully brutal sport and always will be. It has improved, to be clear. Derek Anderson, who played quarterback in the NFL from 2006 until 2018, told me in 2016 that when he first arrived in the league he was shocked at how predatory the headhunting was toward QBs and receivers, and that it had gotten much better. There are fewer padded practices in both the CFL and the NFL, thanks to unions. Concussion spotters can miss hits, but 20 years ago concussion spotters didn’t exist. Football has gotten safer over the years, even if it’s not safe.
But these were dirty plays, even if they came from a player without a history of dirty plays. Two games is something in a league like the CFL, but in the big picture? It feels small. Some people familiar with the system blame an unsophisticated discipline process. Meanwhile, the NFL has added to a more formal system year after year. As CFL revenues rise, the league should do the same.
Mostly in all this, I am thinking about Talbot and about the vulnerability of CFL players. Talbot is a 23-year-old kid from London, Ont. in his rookie season after being drafted in the fourth round out of the University of Windsor. It was the fourth game of his career, in a league where the minimum salary is $70,000 per year. And if injured long term, he’s not eligible for workers’ comp.
And his life may have just changed. The CFL has largely escaped the bigger player safety conversation, partly because many players disappear back into the U.S. when their careers end. But one argument as to why the game is safer than the NFL — beyond the physics of a bigger field, fewer running plays, and smaller players — is that you simply don’t make enough money playing in the CFL to hang on too long in your career. It might even be true.
Less money and shorter careers are also likely reasons why suspensions aren’t very long, though, and Talbot doesn’t fit in that category anyway. He hasn’t had the chance.
Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request.
There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again.
You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply.
Opinion articles are based on the author’s interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details
Bruce Arthur is a columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @bruce_arthur.
