Groin-punching BC Lions player loses job for obvious reasons
The BC Lions released defensive back Josh Hagerty on Tuesday.
Hagerty was suspended by the CFL for two games following an incident in which he struck Montreal Alouettes running back Liam Talbot two times in the groin.
The incident ended Talbot’s season, as he had to undergo emergency surgery for what has been called a “life-altering” injury.
Some around the CFL, especially from the Alouettes organization, suggested that a two-game suspension was not significant enough to match the severity of the incident.
“No, it’s definitely not enough,” said Alouettes defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund, adding, “I have people calling me to tell me it’s not enough, but what am I going to do? We have to move forward as a team.”
The Lions initially indicated they would not apply any further discipline to Hagerty, nor would they remove him from their roster.
“Just knowing who Josh is, this is the last guy that I think any of us would have thought that something like this would have happened,” said Lions general manager Ryan Rigmaiden. “Just knowing who he is, who his character is, we feel like he can get past this and move forward.”
After Hagerty finished serving his suspension, however, Rigmaiden changed course, ultimately deciding to release Hagerty. He issued the following statement following the decision:
“Over the past two weeks, the BC Lions have conducted a review of the circumstances surrounding the league’s suspension of safety Josh Hagerty. As part of that process, we met with Josh and his representatives to discuss the incident, the factors that led to it, and the potential consequences of his conduct. We also made professional support available to him during the period of his suspension.
“With that review now complete, the club has decided to release him. While we respect Josh, his actions were inconsistent with the standards expected of a BC Lion. We believe this decision is in the best interests of the organization going forward.”
“We saw it on tape in two consecutive games”
The Alouettes have alleged that this wasn’t an isolated incident for the Lions.
“What’s the most alarming thing is that we saw it on tape in two consecutive games against the same team, against the same unit,” said Montreal special teams coordinator Byron Archambault. “On both games, it was a guy on punt return that gets hit in the balls. That’s my problem with that. It’s dangerous; it’s not a football play.”
A video clip from 3DownNation showed Lions linebacker Maxime Rouyer appear to strike Alouettes fullback Régis Cibasu in the groin area.
In response to Archambault’s claims, the Lions released a statement:
“Our team takes pride in playing the game the right way and within the rules. The CFL stats back that up, as we enter this week as the league’s least penalized team. The idea that we encourage and condone these plays is unequivocally false.”