Following is the opinion of Arizona Rattler’s HC/GM Kevin Guy:
“Markus (Smith) was making plays, but he wanted to go to a tryout in Canada,” Guy said. "That’s something we need to address as a league. We have to protect our league. Canada is not a higher league. They’re competition. It’s the NFL and we’re fighting over who they cut. We’ve got our own league and our rules.
“Owners have to stand up and decide to protect our league, what we’re playing for. It is an issue. When you have an organization like us, and we’re going to recruit 365 days a year, and put the best product on the field. … Some of those guys in Canada are just lazy. They want to look at our roster and try to cherry pick. At the end of the day, that’s lazy recruiting on their part. They need to do a better job of recruiting in the offseason.”
“If you get offered a contract, you can leave,” Guy said. “But to go do tryouts, we’re not running a charity. At the end of the day, we want guys who are here and committed.”
Such bad business and idiocy to go trashing CFL GMs, calling them lazy or whatnot. Any good GM is going to look at feeder leagues as a source for prospects. The NFL does it with the CFL; the CFL does it with Arena. If anyone up here reads his comments, he'll be lucky to get any rhythm from the CFL going forward.
Sounds, unfortunately, like a typical American who can’t stand the idea that an American league isn’t the center of the football universe. This is what happens when a country is founded on a weirdo narcissistic idea of its own exceptionalism. You get “citizens” who think no other country counts or has anything to teach the US.
It’s only one guy, I’m not sure it’s “typical”
Americans are running our League, Only GM’s Buono and Desjardins are Canadian
O Shea and Buono are the only Canadian HC’s
Even the Commish is American
Just to be clear, the main concern that Kevin Guy has is the disruption of his roster during the season. Hence, he does not like players missing games just to tryout somewhere. He seems to have no problem if they leave after the player received an actual contract.
Very, very typical to me. Perfect example of American exceptionalism in action. The fact that Americans are in the CFL is beside the point – nowhere did I say all Americans subscribe to this view. But it is a profoundly American position to think that your crappy indoor Arena league, which plays its players peanuts, is on par with another football league outside the US.
Tout recrutement se fait en regardant ce que les joueurs peuvent faire soit dans une autre équipe, soit dans une autre ligue, peu importe qu'elle soit professionnelle, scolaire ou autre. L'affirmation à l'effet que les DG de la LCF sont paresseux est non seulement erronée, mais carrément stupide. Les équipes de l'AFL en font autant, d'ailleurs. La grosse différence est qu'elles ne peuvent pas rivaliser en salaires avec les équipes de la LCF, tout comme la LCF ne peut rivaliser en salaires avec la NFL. Ça, c'est la réalité.
Il y a de bons joueurs dans l'AFL, même de très bons joueurs. Mais pour la majorité d'entre eux, soit ils ne sont pas de calibre pour jouer dans les autres ligues professionnelles, soit ils sont plus moulés pour ce style particulier qu'est celui de l'AFL ou l'IFL.
Yeah, I don’t think people are understanding this. The AFL season is going, and guys are leaving during the season for a CFL tryout. One of them got injured while doing so.
If a CFL team had players just up and leave partway through the season for an NFL tryout and then get injured, don’t you think the coach of that team would be unhappy about it?
I’m not sure how this is even allowed to happen. Does the CFL just ignore AFL contracts?
Yup, the proverbial typical whine when they don’t have their way. Perhaps the Arizona team should, for the principle of things contact Judge Judy and sue the CFL for lost profits and harassment.
I agree with this,
There is no way CFL teams should be bringing in players under contract in other leagues without permission. :oops:
What would we think if in July/August some of our best Players while under contract, left mid season to be training camp fodder for the NFL without permission.
It’s a coach who is pissed off that he just lost a bunch of players mid season, one of which got injured and can’t come back as a result. People tend to say things when they’re pissed off. Given that he also said he has no problem with letting guys go that get an actual CFL contract (rather than a tryout), I don’t see the big deal. If anything, I think he has a point.
CFL teams would flip out if players were jumping to another lead mid season because they got a call for a tryout. Hell, CFL teams didn’t like it when players were leaving in the option year of their contract for an NFL shot, and that was happening in the off season.
I don't feel a great deal of sympathy. I think it's fair to say that guys playing Arenaball are playing Arenaball because they have no other "ball" to play. He has to be realistic about where he is. Surely this is not a new phenomenon with that league.
He has a point that the AFL and CFL are basically fighting for the same people. But making the CFL the enemy is the wrong way to go about it. Make it part of a contract that a player can not attend tryouts during such and such a period of time. You want committed guys? Make them commit. If they (teams, or the league) still pay per-game instead of per season, then maybe THAT needs to change.
But this is an issue within their own league. Don't hate us because we're beautiful. 8)
Exactly. If Arena teams aren't respecting their own contracts, that's their issue and they should fix it themselves. But talking smack about the CFL is not only classless and incorrect, but also bad business.