The Canadian Football League held its inaugural European draft on Thursday and, uh, turning to dressage …
At this juncture, there should be greater priorities.
For example, the league’s collective-bargaining agreement with the CFL Players’ Association is to expire shortly before training camps are scheduled to open on May 19.
Talks are moving even slower than the players who were selected in the European draft.
Where is the urgency?
Get a deal done!
At the very last, sit down and negotiate.
How difficult is that?
Sadly, the answer is all too obvious.
The CFLPA revealed Wednesday that the league’s next proposed date for negotiations is April 29.
The parties had scheduled weekly bargaining sessions but now, for whatever reason, talks are stalled.
“I think it’s disrespectful to the process,” CFLPA executive director Brian Ramsay told the media on Wednesday.
Uh, what process?
The optics are terrible, through no fault of Ramsay and his union brethren.
Instead of addressing what should be the No. 1 item on the agenda, the league is sending out media releases about a European draft.
Of course, nobody can say how, exactly, the Europeans will be accounted for on training-camp or active rosters. Ditto for the Mexicans who were selected in a Jan. 14 draft.
In fact, nobody is actually sure how the Canadians — er, nationals — will factor into the equation once the regular season begins.
There have been rumblings that the number of national starters will be reduced from seven, to five, but there will not be any clarity until a collective-bargaining agreement is signed.
So, naturally, talks are on hold.
Meanwhile, we are reading about (ahem) prospects from Le Mans, France, and Flensburg, Germany.
This is all part of CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie’s ambitious CFL 2.0 initiative.
When asked in late February whether the efforts to globalize the league would detract from the focus on labour talks, Ambrosie responded: “One of the things you learn over time is to walk and chew gum at the same time.”
Ambrosie added: “We were very careful about making sure that the things we’re working on (internationally) were all consistent with our strategy. We’re not off-strategy at all, and now we can turn our attention to the negotiations with the players.”
So, how about turning your attention to negotiations with the players?
Instead, there is an unexplained delay as time ticks away. Players are understandably rankled.
“They are drying us out…. just like last time,” B.C. Lions receiver Duron Carter tweeted Wednesday, when he added that “soon players’ wallets are going to be so dry.”
Carter added that “if the league really cared about the players we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Hamilton Tiger-Cats receiver Brandon Banks also weighed in, imploring CFL players not to go to camp without a deal.
“Leopards cannot change their spots,” Calgary Stampeders punter Rob Maver tweeted, referencing the CFL. “Sadly, I am not ONE bit surprised.”
And what is the league saying?
Postmedia’s Dan Barnes sought comment Wednesday and received the following nothingness: “The CFL will not comment on the status of negotiations with the CFLPA at this time out of respect for the bargaining process.”
Instead of addressing a valid question — why the two-week delay? — the league opts for silence.
Has the CFL’s buying and selling of the Montreal Alouettes ascended to No. 1 on the priority list?
Even if that is the case, what about the fine art of walking and chewing gum?
The players, who are the show, deserve so much better than this.
The league has declared a moratorium on off-season bonuses until a new CBA is done. Moreover, players have not received paycheques since the conclusion of last season. Many of those players earn five-figure salaries.
Therefore, prolonged negotiations benefit the very same league that eviscerated the CFLPA in 2014, when the last CBA was signed.
The risk, though, is that dragging the very same feet that allow Ambrosie and friends to simultaneously walk and chew gum will galvanize, even embolden, the traditionally acquiescent CFLPA.
Perhaps the concept of a training-camp boycott, as suggested by Banks, will gain momentum if negotiations continue to drag along.
In the event that training camps begin without a new CBA, players should refuse to participate in pre-season games until a deal is consummated.
Perhaps that would be a wake-up call for the CFL, which is thinking globally while talks proceed glacially.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
