Someone in the team hierarchy should be held accountable because MBT should not have been in the Scotiabank Arena.
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A mistake in judgment, an unconscious victim of a cut-and-dried rule, the fact is that Argos’ chances of beating Hamilton in Sunday’s Eastern Final may have taken a big hit.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who was to make his first playoff start as quarterback for host Argos, was told by the club to stay home on Friday, a day when the team gathered at Downsview Park for their final training session on their way into the big match against their largest. competing.
His crime was attending Thursday’s Raptors fight with his daughter.
But the bigger crime was allowing MBT to even participate in the game, questioning Argos’ front office and its lack of judgment.
MBT and his child were shown on the overlay video scoreboard.
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In today’s COVID-conscious world, MBT’s performance at the Raptors-Bucks game was in violation of CFL’s protocol, which is quite black and white.
He is now to be quarantined for four days.
Someone in Argos’ hierarchy should be held accountable because MBT should not have been in the Scotiabank Arena.
As Friday’s dizzying turnaround unfolded, there was talk that MBT is likely to play in the Eastern Final as he is scheduled to undergo daily COVID tests right up until kickoff.
Still, Argos should be both embarrassed and ashamed, all the way up to the top of club president Bill Manning.
He’s been out of hand this season because his priority is football, but this is a terrible look at Argos, who will have their biggest crowd at BMO Field since the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals.
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MBT is as smart as they come and he has been very careful and cautious in following the league’s health and safety protocols.
In Allen Iverson’s immortal words, “We’re talking about practice!”
In MBT’s case, his alleged crime was participating in a hoops game, even though he is fully vaccinated.
But again, a person with Argos management should be held accountable.
MBT became an Eastern all-star this season and needed to be at its best Sunday against a Ticats team that will host next week’s Gray Cup in Hammer for the first time since 1996.
If MBT is unable to play – and again Argos lobbies privately in the league for further clarity, Antonio Pipkin will get started.
Pipkin has started a game for Argos in his first season in Double Blue, the team’s final against Edmonton, as Toronto had already locked himself in first and its playoff farewell. He was not good.
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Rookie Cole McDonald is the only other quarterback under contract for Argos. He made his debut against the Elks in the fourth quarter. Not surprisingly, McDonald showed he needed a lot more time to learn the CFL game.
MBT joined Argos in 2017, the year the club won a Gray Cup.
He has been waiting for the long-awaited shot to be the guy, and he responded by helping lead Argos to first place in the East with a record of 9-5 after Toronto traded Nick Arbuckle to Edmonton.
If he can not play on Sunday, it will be devastating for a bright man who is very conscientious.
As more could be picked up on Friday, the chances of MBT playing looked much more promising than they did when the news first came that the veteran was asked by Argos to stay home.
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Again, it’s not like he was tested positive, but rules are rules and he broke one.
The biggest question that remains unanswered is why no one with Argos told MBT to stay home Thursday.
Sunday’s game is the fifth meeting between Argos and Ticats. Argos won the season series 3-1, including three wins in a row.
CFL, which did not play a season in 2020 due to COVID, only had to reschedule a match in the wake of an outbreak. It involved an Elks visit to BMO Field in late August when an outbreak broke out among Edmonton players. The match was moved to November 16, the last time Argos was in action. None of the established Argos played in what was a pointless game.
Hamilton, who finished second in the East, advanced to the finals by beating Montreal in last Sunday’s division semifinals.
Argos and Ticats met late in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2013 when Hamilton came to town to cope with the uprising.
fzicarelli@postmedia.com
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