Riders stay connected in Saskatoon as CFL labour talks drag on

The Canadian Football League and Players Association have still not reached a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement, meaning all Saskatchewan Roughriders formal practices have been cancelled until further notice.

But that hasn’t stopped some members of the green and white from staying sharp at Saskatoon Minor Football Field and Ignite Athletics.

“We have Ignite who's been great over here with setting us up with the gym and training,and we have the Gordie Howe Bowl there to kind of get the offense going over their plays in a walkthrough kind of atmosphere,” said Riders kicker Brett Lauther, the team’s representative to the Players Association.

“We're definitely trying not to get anyone hurt so there's no one-on-one’s or live reps or anything crazy like that, but just getting the guys out, staying on the same page, and staying ready and really just staying united as group.”

Lauther says there hasn’t been much progress made between the league and the players, which is frustrating after the league faced some serious issues during the pandemic.

“It's almost like there's been some tough things that have been out of your control, and now you just decided to shoot yourself in the foot,” he said of the CBA situation, adding there have been some “fiery moments” during meetings, especially regarding money and the Canadian ratio.

“It doesn't make much sense to me, but at the same time, there's people that are paid a lot more to make these decisions.”

The Riders first preseason game is scheduled for Monday May 23 against Winnipeg, but Lauther says he’s heard that game could be in jeopardy of being cancelled if a deal isn’t reached by Wednesday.

“I can't confirm that,” he said.

“I've also heard they're not going to try to make up that game as well, so a little bit disappointing. So like I said, even though it's preseason, anytime it's Bombers and Roughriders it's good for the league.”