WINNIPEG, Man. — On his first official day as a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, all-star defensive end Willie Jefferson found himself answering questions about the contentious collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players that almost fell apart on Saturday night.
Such is the uncertain nature of the Canadian Football League this season that the very presence of veteran players, such as Jefferson, on the field Sunday was the story of the day.
On Saturday, it sounded like the players were ready to go on strike after they balked at some ambiguous wording in the tentative CBA that was reached last week. Players are still in the process of ratifying the deal, and it sounds like that will happen now that the wording issue has been clarified, but the hiccup on Saturday still left more than 800 players in state of limbo the night before training camps were set to open across the league.
“At 10 or 11 o’clock, when guys were really trying to wind down and go to bed, if you didn’t really know what was going on, you went to bed guessing what it was going to be like waking up,” Jefferson said Sunday after Day 1 of training camp at IG Field. “To wake up in the morning and see the things that did happen late (Saturday) night, it was a relief to know that the (CFL)PA was still fighting and trying to get everything for the players and we’re happy with what happened and the turnout.”
Jefferson, signed as a free agent after being most outstanding player with the Saskatchewan Roughriders last season, was one of 94 players to hit the field for the Bombers.
The 6-foot-7, 248-pound defensive end said players around the league spent much of Saturday night contacting one another just to make sure everyone was full informed of the situation. Meanwhile, the Players Association itself worked to get the wording of the CBA changed and did so before midnight, averting what could have been a considerable crisis, with hundreds of players already in their respective CFL cities, ready to go to work.
“The CBA is pretty touch-and-go,” Jefferson said. “As of right now, we’re just trying to stay together as a team, as a league.
“We came to a vote and just decided to come out here and work.”
Oddly, Bombers CFLPA representatives Patrick Neufeld and Chad Rempel did not practise on Sunday and were not available for comment on the CBA negotiations, the deal, nor the snafu that nearly derailed things on Saturday.
That left players, such as Jefferson and middle linebacker Adam Bighill, the team’s most outstanding player in 2018, to do the talking.
“There was a misunderstanding in the readings of our CBA agreement and we knew we had to take care of that before things got settled on Day 1,” said Bighill, who signed a three-year contract extension in the off-season. “We had our messages between the leader groups, just making sure we were going to be on the same page going into today.”
Was the uncertainty of the off-season and the last-minute bargaining difficult to deal with?
“Not really, because I knew a deal was gonna get done. Obviously, we’re closing on that right now. For me, I signed the deal and I’m ready to work. I know things are gonna get worked out because it’s in the best interests of the players and it’s in the best interests of the league. We just want to get out here in front of our fans and play football.”
The Bombers were at the centre of Saturday’s crisis as an internal players’ memo was leaked on social media. It was not clear which player sent the memo, but it was obvious that the players were ready to strike.
“Guys, the league has double crossed us on our tentative agreement. There are numerous items that they have now gone back on that threaten many jobs … we will now be moving forward with a strike until further notice,” the memo said.
“This is NOT what we agreed to. They have engaged in bad faith negotiating. Let’s stand together and for each other.”
By Sunday morning, everything seemed to be back to normal and there seemed to be almost a sense of relief among the players to be back on the field.
“A lot of coaches remarked to me that when the players came in, there was a real good sense purpose and joy to be around the room and be back with their teammates and getting ready to play football again,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said. “That’s what I’m feeling.”
Quarterback Matt Nichols was on the field, throwing for the first time to his new big target Chris Matthews and enjoying the fact that Jefferson is now on his team instead of a fierce rival.
“I’m not gonna get too much into (the CBA),” Nichols said. “I’m just happy that we’re out here and happy that we’re playing football. As a football player, you never want to deal with all these other things. Once you get out here on the field, all that goes by the wayside and you’re out here competing with the guys and everyone was happy to be out here doing that.”
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
RELATED
