Bishop to report to Argo camp

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/191102

Quarterback Mike Bishop was informed by the Argonauts last week that the contract he signed with them last summer is valid and under the option clause of that pact they expect him to report to training camp in early June.

He now says he'll be there.

However, Bishop played in the Kansas City Brigade's first two games of the Arena Football League season and was the backup to the team's veteran starter Ray Philyaw. Bishop was used strictly as the goalline quarterback, carrying twice in the first game against Chicago for one yard and gaining no yards on one rush in the second game against Colorado.

Argo president Keith Pelley said he had denied a request from Bishop's agent to release him and was unaware that Bishop had played in those games.

Asked what steps he would take if Bishop dressed for the team's next game, Friday against Dallas, Pelley replied: "No comment."

Bishop, one of five CFL players currently in similar situation with AFL teams, denied he played in either game, although statistics and game reviews on the team's website mention his participation.

"They must have mistaken me for someone who looked like me," he said in a telephone interview.

Bishop offered a "no comment" when asked if he would play Friday.

"All I'm saying is that I'll be there (at Argos training camp) on June 2," he said. "I might even get up there before that."

CFL chief operating officer Michael Copeland said the two leagues have decided the matter is between the CFL clubs and their players, therefore they are not dealing with each player at a league-to-league level.

No formal agreement has been reached between the two leagues regarding signing players under contract to the other league. Pelley feels the situation is clearly a league issue.

"It's not a Toronto Argonaut issue," he said. "It's a CFL-AFL issue. The CFL has been ... involved from the beginning. We have had no contact with the AFL or Kansas City."