CFL did the wrong thing

I've been to 3 of the last 4 Grey Cups. Up until today, I loved the CFL and the game. In the case of Nik Lewis, and what he did, though, the CFL and Calgary Stampeders did the wrong thing. Nik Lewis definitely should have been suspended. His stupid tweet and his response that he regrets money being taken out of his pocket is disgusting. In just fining Lewis and not pulling him from the game the CFL and Stamps are stating that a football game means more than women's lives. It's sad that with the 100th Grey Cup looming, a very long term fanatical fan like me won't even want to watch the game if the Stamps make it into the big game (and I was backing them over BC in the finals). If Nik Lewis ends up with a Grey cup ring on his finger it will certainly be a disgrace to the 100th cup. This has completely turned me off the game and the league. It's time to step up and do the right thing. Sorry to my beloved Als.

What is sad is that this stupid comment is getting more play that is should. He was fined, now he should be ignored. As for not watching the game because of this, like I have said in another context. If this is going to cause anyone to stop being a fan, you weren't much of a fan to begin with. No one person or their actions are bigger than the game.

Sorry VofR but I don’t agree with your judgment of finals1386 and because of his reaction who must not have been much of a fan in the first place. He may well have other issues with the CFL generally. I don’t know.

If he is disgusted to the point that he chooses not to watch the game that in my opinion doesn’t suggest to me that he was never much of a fan in the first place. It just means he’s thoroughly disgusted with how the situation was handled and believes more should have been done. Whether others agree or not is up to them. Nor do I think Lewis’s comment is getting too much play. It has created dialogue and provides an opportunity to hear how others perceive the comment and how it could [should?] have been handled. There was one poster who dismissed it as an innocent joke and that it didn’t even warrant a fine. I for one was interested in knowing his reasoning.

I found your last statement rather interesting because it actually backs up what finals1386 is saying; Lewis is not bigger or more important than the game although Lewis seems to think he is.

:thup:

If we take this thread (saying a fine was nowhere near enough and he should be suspended) and merge it with the thread that says the CFL is horrible for doing something as drastic as fining him, do they cancel each other out?

I don't see how this is a suspendable offense. It was a stupid comment, it was dealt with. The league didn't even suspend Khalif Mitchell for his racist tweets (the BC Lions did that).

I think a fine was appropriate. His comments were insensitive, but was it because he sees violence against women as acceptable in some circumstances or was he just insensitive to how that comment might be taken by some people. I'll go back to the Khalif Mitchell model (because he is such a perfect example of how not to be a human being in the public spotlight), he tweeted the word "chink" which is universally accepted as a derogatory racial slur while Lewis touched on an area that, sadly, is still not seen as a problem by far too many people. I read the news reports and what struck me was the reference to "violence against women" but less so the reference to 2 murder victims.

Lewis did what far too many celebrities of all kinds are doing these days, engaged his fingers before his brain. He was fined, let's move on and let the story and his insensitive tweet quickly fade away. Now when he does it again........

I guess that I should apologise to finals1386. I did not mean to question his sincerity as a fan. I should have said, don’t let the inapropriate actions of one person effect your loyalty. There is no doubt that most people would or should find the particular joke offensive. As one person said, I have heard worse, but that cannot be justification for a public person making an inappropriate comment on a public forum.

I will say that to take a portion of a comment and making comment on only that portion is wrong as well. I hate when people cherry pick and take things out of context. It should be noted that Nik Lewis said that “he regrets money being taken out of his pocket and he regrets making the comment but he can’t take back”. Far different that just cherry picking the first part of the comment.

"I should have said, don't let the inapropriate actions of one person effect your loyalty. "...by VoiceofReason

That I can agree with. :thup:

While I've lost much respect for Lewis as a human being, still a super player of course, I will say I didn't grow up in his shoes and don't know him. Hopefully he'll learn from this and move on and watch what he says first before typing.

Although it by no means excuses what was tweeted, people should understand that Nik Lewis contributes a lot of time to helping others. I am an Eskimo fan but living in Calgary, I have seen the good things that he does. Again that doesn't excuse what was said, it does how ever speak to his character.

I can assume you’re not watching the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, World Series, NCAA or Stanley Cup either then? … or do you think tweeting in bad taste is more offensive than the numerous gun incidents, drug abuse cases, sex scandals, robberies, rapes, murders, and even the odd dog fight that involves a small minority of players and coaches in those leagues? The NHL and NFL’s solution to (much more serious) stupidity is trading the offending players to a new market. NCAA just covers everything up, baseball denies anything happened and the NBA… well, just lets say our expectations aren’t that high anymore.

Stating “Up until today, I loved the CFL and the game” seems a little melodramatic, but hey, to each their own I guess.

Some good points dcmoses. I can see why women would be offended by such a remark. I also think it merits discussion as a topic in itself. Some subjects and events are best left alone when trying to get a cheap laugh. Interestingly, Lewis later said that he cannot be apologizing “everyday”. Sure he can. He should apologized sincerely, every time he puts his foot in his mouth. The less he puts his foot in his mouth the less he needs to apologize. As far as why he did it? Who knows? Ignorance? Stupidity? Maybe he had a few too many while he was tweeting.

I’m glad to see political correctness is still alive and well in Canada.

The jury of public opinion can be unforgiving VofR. Unfortunately, when one falls from grace in the eyes of the public it is difficult to change people’s perception. He put his foot in his mouth. Hopefully, he’ll learn that less talk means less mistakes and not put the other one in.

well said.

Are there any white athletes who have gotten themselves in hot water with twitter comments?

I can only think of mitchell and lewis specifically, but do remember a bomber player ripping his GM via twitter in the off season. Cant think of who it was, but im sure he was black as well.

Is it only black athletes sticking their feet in their mouths via twitter?

The B.C. Lions showed guts in suspending Khalif. Khalif got the message- say offensive inappropriate things on line and you miss playing a game and getting paid. That is a deterrent that works. He got it.
Lewis, on the other hand, gets a slap on the wrist and a small fine. Not much of a deterrent.
Good on Wally Buono for putting values and sport responsibility as role models ahead of winning at all costs.
Some things are bigger than football.
The Stamps showed no guts, no values / morals and did not send much of a message to Mr. Lewis.
Too bad and so sad. :cowboy:

CFL Forever

That would be the same Wally Buono who was supportive of Mitchell’s efforts to avoid being suspended after trying to break someone’s arm?

Don’t kid yourself. They only stepped in because BC has a major Asian population and the tweets were a serious problem.

Tridus~

Let’s be fair about this. If you can come up with statements made by Buono that show that he was “supportive” of Mitchell’s effort to avoid being suspended I’d like to see them.

The way I read it is as follows:

"Lions GM Wally Buono said Mitchell simply is taking advantage of the appeal process open to him in the collective agreement. To infer that an appeal means the club is “condoning? unacceptable behaviour is not only unfair to the Lions but wrong, Buono said.

“The appeal is not by the club,? Buono explained Tuesday. “We don’t condone bad behaviour. We’ve released a number of players over the years because of their bad behaviour. We’re not orchestrating this. That’s not the case at all. But we’re protecting an individual’s right to appeal, just like we have the right in this country to appeal a speeding ticket.?

I don’t see Buono supporting Mitchell at all. He simply explained that Mitchell had the right to appeal. You can read it for yourself if you want:

[url=http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/football/edmonton-eskimos/Eskimos+Rottier+forgives+forgets/6984195/story.html]http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/foot ... story.html[/url]

“……the CFL and the Stamps are saying that a football game means more than women’s lives.?

Wwwwhat?? Of all of the ridiculous, over-the-top conclusions that have been drawn by some people on this site over the years, this one beats them all.