The CFL's latest spying controversy is sure to ignite debate over whether this is a one-off, or whether spying -- of one sort or another -- is common around the league.
The CFL's latest spying controversy is sure to ignite debate over whether this is a one-off, or whether spying -- of one sort or another -- is common around the league.
The Bombers deny they were spying, suggesing instead that a rogue scout got a little over-ambitious without their knowledge.
Either way, this is going to be an interesting issue for CFL commissioner Marc Cohon to deal with.
Cohon has the tricky job of trying to deal with this incident in a way that sends a strong message about spying and protects the fact that CFL practices -- unlike those in the NFL -- are accessible to the public and media.
It's important that CFL teams feel comfortable there are not spies sitting in the weeds (or the stands, as was the case in Hamilton) since in most CFL cities, anyone can walk up and watch practice. And unlike the NFL, which removes reporters from practice before team drills begin where formations are practiced, in the CFL it's wide open when it comes to the media watching practice.
(In the NFL some teams, such as the San Diego Chargers which practices next to a cliff, hire security guards to patrol the grounds around the pratice field looking for spies.)
Recently, however, there has been a growing sense that CFL teams would like to do more of their work in private. Some see this as a direct result of the fact that four head coaches -- Montreal's Marc Trestman, Calgary's John Hufnagel, Winnipeg's Mike Kelly and Toronto's Bard Andrus, have all come recently from the NFL and its culture of secrecy.
With the advent of YouTube, CFL teams in recent seasons have banned cameras from taping the team portions of practice where they are in formations. But that aside, it's been open-season.
This spring the Montreal Alouettes asked that reporters not use their cell phones at practice this season. But when the Calgary Stampeders tried to close practices at the beginning of last season (no surprise with Hufnagel once having worked on the staff of Bill Belichick in New England), the media squaked. And so a deal was struck between the league and The Football Reporters of Canada where the media members agreed not to report on formations and which plays are being practiced.
So CFL teams now apparently trust the media, but do they trust each other?
(The fact is that closing practice is not an option for many CFL teams which practice in public spaces, such as the Argos on the grounds of the University of Toronto's Mississauga campus or the Alouettes who practice outside at Parc Olympique.)
It was five years ago that the Montreal Alouettes were caught taping Ottawa Renegades head coach on the sidelines, in an effort to steal signals by matching their home movies to the game tape. Then commissioner Tom Wright was outraged but never did anything about it. Not even when the Als were caught for a second time that same season.
If the Als were fined or reprimanded in any way, it was not made public or shared with the rest of the league. So at the very least, fans and the other teams were given the impresion that the Als got a free pass, and that the league was powerless to do anything about spying.
Unfortunately, not dealing with the problem fed the perception that it was no big deal because it was only the CFL. And it was hard to argue with that view when after the exact same thing happened in the NFL a few years later with New England, not only were the Pats were fined and lost a draft pick, there were politicians asking for a federal investigation.
Canadian football fans don't need a Royal Commission on this latest episode. But Cohon needs to come out strong. Whether the Bombers knew what their scout (Ron Trentini) was doing or not, it was up to them to direct him about what is and what is not accceptable in the world of fooball information gathering.
Cohon's response should remind the Bombers of their responsibility and send a strong mesage to every other team as well.
