Montreal Alouettes head coach Khari Jones is seen at the end of season news conference in Montreal on Nov. 15, 2019.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Khari Jones says he received death threats while he was the quarterback of the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers because of his interracial marriage.
Jones, entering his second season as the Montreal Alouettes head coach, said during a teleconference with reporters Tuesday the threats came in the form of letters that remain in his possession to this day.
Jones is black and his wife, Justine, is white.
Jones, 49, played quarterback for the Bombers for parts of five seasons (2000-04) and enjoyed his best CFL campaign in 2001 with the Blue Bombers.
He was named the CFL’s outstanding player that season after leading Winnipeg to a 14-4 regular-season record and Grey Cup berth.
An emotional Jones also said he and some friends were wrongly arrested by police, who had their guns drawn, in California in the 1990s in what Jones added was a case of mistaken identity.
On Monday, Jones took to Twitter – a rarity for the Alouettes coach – to express his pain, anger and sadness over the death of George Floyd last week while in police custody in Minneapolis.