What you talkin’ bout Willis? No suspension for Odell after Collaros head shot

B.C. Lions defensive lineman Odell Willis has avoided suspension from the CFL for his head shot on Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Zach Collaros.

Willis does first contact the shoulder pad but basically immediately glances into Collaros’s chin with head down. That it is reviewed as a head shot, Collaros shows issues post play, and Collaros isn’t check kind of makes spotters laughable. pic.twitter.com/Bi5hZ4LLRr

— (Jon)ny Foozball (@jonathanwhudson) October 27, 2018

Instead, the league fined Willis the maximum amount – half a game check.

On Monday Commissioner Randy Ambrosie admitted the CFL dropped the ball regarding how it handled Willis’s helmet-to-helmet hit on Collaros.

Willis delivered the hit on Collaros in the first quarter of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ 35-16 win over the B.C. Lions. There was no flag thrown on the play, and only after the Riders challenged was an unnecessary roughness penalty called.

What’s more, Collaros, who has a history of concussions, was allowed to remain in the game despite twice having to squat down to compose himself. He left later for precautionary reasons and didn’t return.

The CFL admitted in a statement released over the weekend that Willis should’ve been flagged for the hit and the Riders shouldn’t have had to use a challenge. It also added its injury spotter should’ve not allowed Collaros to remain in the contest and Willis could face league discipline as a result of the incident.

Ambrosie reiterated all of those points Monday, saying the league’s response to the hit “was clearly inadequate.”

The failure to suspend Willis is once again clearly inadequate from the league.

– with CP files