Saskatchewan Roughriders’ quarterback Trevor Harris believes the CFL’s weather protocol needs to be amended after poor air quality in Regina left his team stuck in limbo for hours.
“I always tell people, there’s a reason you sign a tenant agreement when you rent a house, because people have things that have happened to them,’ Harris told the media on Saturday. “Now this will probably be something in the CBA that we’ll have to address, because that was not fun.”
The Riders and Calgary Stampeders had their Week 6 matchup pushed by a day after wildfire smoke rendered conditions at Mosaic Stadium unsafe on Friday night. Unfortunately, the decision to push the game to Saturday afternoon was not officially made until 10:45 p.m. local time, nearly four hours after the original kickoff time. That left both fans and players waiting without answers on whether football would actually be played.
Saskatchewan lost the rescheduled contest on Saturday afternoon by a score of 24-10, but Harris says his gripes with the way the situation was handled have nothing to do with the end result.
“That sucked. It wasn’t fun. I’m not making excuses as to this today, but it was brutal,” he said. “There’s all kinds of excuses you can make, but they had to do the same thing. It’s an equalizer. They were tired too, probably. It’s one of those things; it’s football.”
In 2019, the CFL and CFL Players’ Association (CFLPA) agreed that players should not practice or play outdoors if the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is eight or higher. Regina’s air quality on Friday was listed at a 10+ on the AQHI—the highest possible rating.
The CFL and the Roughriders knew that smoke could be an issue for the game as early as Thursday, but meteorologist projections showed that it would clear relatively quickly. After originally delaying kickoff by 45 minutes, the wind over the city unexpectedly died and thrust everyone into a holding pattern.
Under the terms of the existing weather protocol, any game delayed by more than three hours before the mid-way point of the third quarter is supposed to be cancelled, with the policy explicitly stating that “players are NOT required to play on the following day.” However, that protocol does not take effect until warmups have commenced, which could have allowed the league to wait indefinitely for conditions to clear in Saskatchewan.
The CFLPA does not appear to have any issue with how the situation was handled, releasing a statement on Saturday that praised the CFL decision to “prioritize our members’ well-being” by postponing the game. Harris believes that player safety would have been put in jeopardy by the long wait and eventual quick turnaround.
“Kickoff’s at seven. We were sitting in the locker room since five o’clock, and we’re talking about teeing it up at 11:15. It’s like, ‘Hey, this is probably a player safety issue,'” he said. “We’re sitting in the locker room for six hours, and then go out and warm up for 20 minutes and play, and be done at 2:15 in the morning. That doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
Even with the postponement, players had just over 15 hours from the schedule change until kickoff the next day. The Stampeders were left scrambling to find accommodations, with half the team forced to stay in the University of Regina dorms — four players to a unit with a single bathroom between them.
The Riders got the benefit of sleeping in their own beds, but they had plenty of uncertainty in their own right. As the delay progressed throughout the night, players attempted to figure out the weather protocol that would determine their fate and prepare themselves for the possibility of a shootout mini-game in August, which would have decided the game had it been cancelled outright.
In Harris’ opinion, none of it was clear or digestible. The only people left more in the dark than the players were the fans, whom the quarterback had great sympathy for.
“Truthfully, that went through my mind a lot last night in the locker room. I was just like, man, these poor fans are out there sitting this long,” he said. “I think that’s probably one of the other main reasons why the league will (address this). I know they’ll come back with a good response for what will happen in the future with this, but we’ve got to think about the fans sitting there.”
The Roughriders allowed all fans to return on the same ticket the following day, with those who were unable to make it provided compensation for their troubles. Attendees were also encouraged to bring outside food in for the game, after vendors were unable to restock in time.
Unfortunately, the team could do nothing to salve their wounds, disappointing spectators for the second time in 24 hours by losing their first game of the season.
“We were prepared. I thought we just came out flat, and (the Stampeders) didn’t. They came out with their hair on fire,” Harris acknowledged.
“We have the best fan base in the league. I was really happy to see our fan base come out today, and unfortunately, we didn’t get a win for them. We’ve got to make sure that we are reciprocating the love that they give us by responding and getting wins at home, and we will.”
With wildfires expected to be a problem in Western Canada throughout the summer, this is unlikely to be the last Rider game where the air quality protocol will come into play. While all parties hope the situation never becomes this extreme again, Harris has confidence that the CFL and the CFLPA will make the requisite amendments needed to protect both athletes and ticket holders.
“I’m sure the league will do a great job responding in terms of creating a protocol and an answer for us, as you’d expect,” he insisted. “It’s a very professional league and run by good people. I’m sure they’ll address it and come back with something good.”
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-1) will return to action on Saturday, July 19 when they visit the B.C. Lions. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT, air quality permitting.
