‘A tough couple of weeks’: Reynolds addresses Riders’ missteps

The Saskatchewan Roughriders seem to have been on defence a lot in recent weeks.

Fans and media alike have bashed the CFL team for the actions of defensive tackle Garrett Marino and slotback Duke Williams as well as the team itself for its handling of incidents involving those players.

On Thursday, Roughriders president Craig Reynolds called the negative press “a challenge.”

“We’ve had a tough couple of weeks, some of it self-inflicted (and) some of it a little bit outside of our control,” Reynolds said during a media conference.

“I think that’s a bit of the way of the world right now. When things are not going your way, there tends to be a bit of piling on and so I think that’s just where we’re at right now.

“We need to dig ourselves out of it, and we will.”

Fans have raised concerns about the players’ conduct, a feeling which Reynolds completely understands.

“Anytime you have two suspensions in two weeks, it reflects poorly on the organization, let’s be honest. It does,” he said.

He admitted the actions of Williams and Marino violated the club’s Code of Conduct, resulting in internal discipline against both players as well as the league-imposed suspensions.

Williams was suspended for one game for ripping the helmet off Toronto Argonauts defensive back Shaq Richardson and throwing it at him before Saturday’s Touchdown Atlantic game in Wolfville, N.S.

The Argos also alleged Williams spit at Richardson, but that was never proven.

Marino was banned for four games for his actions July 8 against the Ottawa Redblacks. Those included a hit to the legs of Ottawa quarterback Jeremiah Masoli that resulted in Marino’s ejection, a celebration of his hit while he was leaving the field, and derogatory comments about Masoli’s heritage.

On Thursday, Reynolds said the Roughriders were “embarrassed as an organization” by Marino’s actions.

Some have suggested Saskatchewan head coach Craig Dickenson needs to be more of a disciplinarian with the players, but Reynolds defended Dickenson and general manager Jeremy O’Day.

“I’ve got a lot of trust in Craig and Jeremy’s judgment,” Reynolds said. “They understand the importance of the Riders to this community. They understand the importance of good culture in the community.”

After Thursday’s practice, Dickenson again addressed the team’s discipline.

Entering Sunday’s home game against the Argos, Saskatchewan had taken the most penalties (68) for the most yards (647) in the league this season.

“The message is the same every week — team first — and if you don’t put the team first, usually bad things happen, and I think we’re seeing a lot of that right now,” Dickenson said.

“But I still have a lot of trust in those guys in the locker room, I still care about them deeply and I believe it’s important to have an atmosphere (and) a culture of growth and not get your pound of flesh all the time.”

That said, Dickenson noted the team will still hold the players accountable for their actions and will ask them to do better.

He asked for something similar from the naysayers.

“We’re still trying to develop young men to do the right thing and sometimes we falter, and I just ask for a little bit of forgiveness and compassion once in a while out there in the Twitter world,” Dickenson said.

“We’re doing the best we can — and those young men are young and they’re trying, so we’re going to keep plugging away.”

A new look?

A social media post making the rounds shows the Roughriders have filed a design trademark for a new logo.

Thoughts? https://t.co/dHCxjj6393

— Jamie Nye (@jamienye) July 20, 2022

Reynolds said the organization often applies for trademarks on things just in case it wants to do something down the line, but he doesn’t expect that to happen in this case.

“There’s no intention of changing our logo,” Reynolds said. “But we had a logo designed and we wanted to protect some intellectual property there, so we’re in the process of filing a trademark.

“It by no means is an expression of any feeling toward our current S logo.”

— With files from 980 CJME’s Jamie Nye