Rider nation disappointed over training camp cancellation amid CFL work stoppage
Global News
Negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) are ongoing after the current one expired at midnight Saturday.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders cancelled Day 1 of training camp in Saskatoon on Sunday after the CFL Players’ Association (CFLPA) bargaining committee told players with seven of the league’s nine clubs not to report to training camp.
Negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) are ongoing after the current one expired at midnight Saturday.
The Roughriders said an announcement would be made about future practices. The team’s training camp was scheduled to run from May 15 to June 3.
“This is one of those classic examples of ‘only in the CFL, here they go again.’ It’s just absolutely mind-boggling,” said Rob Vanstone, sports editor for Regina Leader Post.
Vanstone said he doesn’t blame the players for the stance they’re taking.
“I think that management, the league went into the negotiations with a sense of complacency, thinking ultimately that the players would just capitulate and just take whatever was given to them on the weekend as the expiration of the CBA loomed and obviously they haven’t done that and bravo to the players for doing it.”
On Sunday, some members of the team got a workout in outside Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon.
The CFL lost its entire season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and had a shortened one in 2021.