Terry Metcalf about to sue CFL over concussions

[ArgoRavi]

As the article points out, Terry Metcalf is the third Argo from the 1970s/early 1980s era that is getting set to file suit against the league over concussions sustained during their time with the Argos: https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/cf...181642742.html

[paulwoods13]

This could be a problem for the league, obviously, since it does not have NFL-type money to pay off guys who played back in the day. If he ever gets deposed, Metcalf will no doubt be asked about whether or not he used cocaine while playing in the CFL. Could damage his credibility, regardless of whether he says Yes or No. (He was busted for cocaine possession in Virginia after returning to the Redskins, and there are interesting rumours floating around about why he left the Argos in 1980.)

[ArgoRavi]

This could be a problem for the league, obviously, since it does not have NFL-type money to pay off guys who played back in the day. If he ever gets deposed, Metcalf will no doubt be asked about whether or not he used cocaine while playing in the CFL. Could damage his credibility, regardless of whether he says Yes or No. (He was busted for cocaine possession in Virginia after returning to the Redskins, and there are interesting rumours floating around about why he left the Argos in 1980.)

Here is a Globe and Mail article from that era about drug issue among the 1979 Argos:

Marijuana, cocaine, speed used Argos hurt by drugs, ex-assistant coach says
Wednesday, January 23, 1980
Marty York
Toronto ON -- By MARTY YORK Anywhere from five to 10 Toronto Argonauts took drugs regularly last season - and this was one of the reasons the team finished out of the Canadian Football League playoffs with a 5-11 record, according to Mike Faulkiner, who recently resigned as an assistant coach.

I can't lie about this, Faulkiner said yesterday after being approached by a reporter who was told by an Argo source of drug use on the team last season. I know there were from five to 10 guys who used the stuff all the time. They were offensive and defensive players.
Club president Lew Hayman expressed surprise at the allegations. First I've heard of this, he said.
Faulkiner, who said he once smelled marijuana on a player during a practice last year, said I know for sure that all the players in question smoked marijuana frequently, at least two were snorting cocaine and four or five were consuming speed.
It had some terrible effects on the team and the coaching staff had several discussions because we were concerned about the problem, Faulkiner said.
Faulkiner, 32, who resigned as Toronto's passing-game coach because Willie Wood was chosen ahead of him as head coach (and we have different theories), added that Forrest Gregg, the Argo head coach last season, asked his coaching staff to sit down at the end of the year and compile a list of players they felt were taking drugs.
Argo player-representative and kicker Ian Sunter confirmed in an interview that Gregg was concerned about a drug problem in the Argonaut camp last season.
I was asked to visit coach Gregg in his office toward the end of the season and he came right out and asked me if there was a drug problem, Sunter said. I said there was, but that it was a small problem. I told him it was worse in 1978, but that between the 1978 and 1979 seasons, a few of the drug-users were cleaned out.
I guess there were guys using drugs, but as long as they didn't bother me, I didn't care.
During the course of the season, Faulkiner said, the coaching staff, including then-defensive backfield coach Wood, conferred about the drug problem on several occasions.
Marijuana makes you sluggish, Faulkiner said, and it was obvious that as the season went on, certain players were becoming more and more passive. Anybody watching the games could tell they lost the enthusiasm they showed earlier.
Stockbrokers can smoke marijuana and it won't affect their careers immediately, but football players have to exert themselves. And it was clear that some of the Argonauts were unable to exert themselves because they were smoking.
He said members of the Metropolitan Toronto Police Force were asked by Gregg a couple of times to visit the Argos and lecture them on the hazards of using drugs.
But Paul Bennett, a veteran Argo safety, said police visits were not new. We had officers come and visit us and caution us about drug usage in previous years, he said, adding that he, for one, hadn't heard anything about this (drug usage) last year, nor did I see any evidence of drug use. Football players are like anyone else, you know. We're subject to the same things as anyone else. But I didn't see any reasons for people saying members of the Argos used drugs.
Some of the guys we knew were on drugs we got rid of early, Faulkiner acknowledged. I'm not going to say names because it's libelous, and I don't want to have a suit against me. I'm not stupid; I don't want to pay suits, especially now that I don't have a job.
A member of the Argos, who insisted on remaining anonymous because I'd be cut in a minute, said that some players participated stoned in games last year. I knew a lot of the guys would smoke dope, but I didn't really think the coaches were that concerned, the player said.
If Willie Wood thinks I'm just trying to start a fire because of these comments, said Faulkiner, a physical fitness buff who neither smokes nor drinks, he'd better realize that it's already there, and that he'd better put it out. I'm just trying to help the Argonauts.
Wood said he understood there was a drug problem with past Argo teams. Narcotics officers from the police force made us aware of this when they came to visit, Wood said, but I don't think it's a serious problem now. I don't think drugs is an issue with our team.
Wood said he hoped the publicity of last year's problem doesn't affect his team this season. Talk about drugs last year and it may affect us this year. I hope it doesn't happen that way. It would be wrong.

________________________
I have found another article from 1982 in which Metcalf is quoted about drug use (marijuana and cocaine, in particular) in the CFL. I can post that if anyone wants me too.

[Gill The Thrill]

Please post Ravi, I love reading these old articles you find, especially since this was an era when I wasn't following the team regularly as I was just starting to learn how to play football. (touch) I remember the Metcalf signing was a big deal even though I was a kid and was not following the Argos regularly until 1981.

Looking at stats, as I don't remember Metcalf playing, I thought he dined on those 2 good years in St.Louis in 1975 and 1976, and was alrealdy slowing down. Metcalf was representative of the bad Argo signings (like Anthony Davis) that may have made big headlines in that era but did not address the teams weaknesses (QB) nor improve the team.

[paulwoods13]

Metcalf's first game with the Argos in 1978 was phenomenal -- something like 177 yards rushing. He never again had a performance anywhere close to it. Like Ricky Williams, he was a victim to some extent of bad offences and bad offensive co-ordinators.

[ArgoRavi]

Metcalf's first game with the Argos in 1978 was phenomenal -- something like 177 yards rushing. He never again had a performance anywhere close to it. Like Ricky Williams, he was a victim to some extent of bad offences and bad offensive co-ordinators.

Here is a Globe and Mail article about Metcalf's first regular season game with the Argos which was probably the high point of his CFL career (Paul wasn't far off on Metcalf's rushing yardage):

Metcalf draws rave reviews
Thursday, July 13, 1978
Jeffrey Goodman
Toronto ON -- Move over Borje Salming. Take two steps backward Darryl Sittler. Toronto sports fans have found another star on whom to build their hopes for a championship. His name, in case you've been in Peking for a few months, is Terry Metcalf, a running back for Toronto Argonauts who receives a very handsome pay cheque and is giving huge dividends in return.

The overwhelmed crowd of 49,950 at last night's mismatch between the Argos and Hamilton Tiger-Cats will attest to that.
Metcalf wasn't the only reason Argos started off the Canadian Football League season with a 34-22 victory. But he was the major reason.
The quiet-spoken, sometimes bashful Argo did more than turn the Ticat defence inside out last night. He left practically everyone else at Exhibition Stadium, including his teammates, dizzy with excitement and delirious with hope.
Why, even Leo Cahill, head coach of the 'Grey Cup-bound' Argonauts and a man who can talk enough for everyone on the club, couldn't help but refer to Metcalf as The Franchise while savoring a rather convincing destruction of Harold Ballard's football club.
Cahill had 163 reasons to be smug about his import halfback. That was the yardage Metcalf gained on 18 carries while driving the Ticats crazy. It wasn't just the fact that Metcalf scored two touchdowns, picked up 82 yards on kickoff returns and 46 yards on three punt returns that was astounding. It was the manner in which he accomplished all this. Keeps blockers hustling He would lead the Ticats to the outside of the field and cut back inside when it was too late for them to catch him.
It's amazing blocking for him, said offensive guard Joel Parrish. You don't have to hold your block half as long when he carries the ball, like with other backs. He allows you to use a different technique.
He brings the defender to you to block, instead of you having to find one, said centre Ralph Hill. He sure makes you tired though, because you have to make two or three blocks on the same play. You hit someone, fall down, get up and have to make another block because he never stops moving. The difference with Terry is that you don't have to knock a man down. You just have to get in front of him and Terry does the rest.
He sits back and waits to see what's happening before making his move, said guard Stew Francis. That's the sign of a great back, because he looks around and sets up the blocking.
Metcalf sat back and listened quietly as the men who help him or break him this year extolled the virtues of having a halfback who tries and succeeds. Didn't matter where he ran I was very relaxed before the game, he said. I feel comfortable with my teammates now. Working together at training camp and through the exhibition season did that. That's why the offensive line did such a great job. They gave me the option of running inside or outside. We did run best to the inside of the field, however.
To those who attended the game, it didn't matter where Metcalf was running best. He ran forward and into the Hamilton end zone, something Argo addicts have not seen in a running back for a long time.
By the time Metcalf had finished humiliating the Ticats, the crowd no longer could resist showing its appreciation. Many stood up and cheered. Others continued chanting, Terry, Terry or give me a T-E-R-R-Y.
Oh, they didn't have to do that, Metcalf said. It embarrassed me a bit. But they pay the money to see this, so they can do what they want.
When Metcalf injured his ankle in the fourth quarter and Cahill took him out to give him a rest, the other Argos didn't make the new star any less self-conscious. Cornerback Eric Harris approached him at the bench and suggested he take a bow. Other players kept saying, They love ya, they love ya.
Metcalf started to laugh about it all before returning to the field to score his second touchdown.
All I've really been trying to do is put some enthusiasm into everybody, he explained. I used to do the same thing with (St. Louis) Cardinals.
If that is all he's been trying to do, Metcalf is becoming a big success and quickly. The defensive unit, which played another excellent game, was talking about him with the utmost respect, while the offence explained what an advantage it is having him in the backfield.
You know something? yelled defensive tackle Granny Liggins. I'm starting to think that guy isn't even human.
There were a lot of other people thinking the same thing last night.

[Gill The Thrill]

____I have found another article from 1982 in which Metcalf is quoted about drug use (marijuana and cocaine, in particular) in the CFL. I can post that if anyone wants me too.

Please post this article as I'm interested. I remember coke was the recreational choice for many celebrities and athletes who had probably too much time on their hands during the 80's. Remember the big SI article about the Edmonton Oilers during their heyday in the 80's. It did not name names but did state that more than one was into it big time, and that it always snowed in New York when the Oilers visited...the writer was not talking about the weather by the way. In the CFL, I remember a former Eskimo...(I know the name, but don't want to mention it on the internet) was busted for Marijuana possession. He was a Canadian lineman and was on all or most of those Grey Cup teams including the '87 team.

[ArgoRavi]

Please post this article as I'm interested. I remember coke was the recreational choice for many celebrities and athletes who had probably too much time on their hands during the 80's. Remember the big SI article about the Edmonton Oilers during their heyday in the 80's. It did not name names but did state that more than one was into it big time, and that it always snowed in New York when the Oilers visited...the writer was not talking about the weather by the way. In the CFL, I remember a former Eskimo...(I know the name, but don't want to mention it on the internet) was busted for Marijuana possession. He was a Canadian lineman and was on all or most of those Grey Cup teams including the '87 team.

The name of the former Eskimo is public knowledge as he was arrested for hashish possession at Winnipeg Airport late in the '86 season. He was subsequently suspended by the league for the rest of that season including the Grey Cup. Anyway, here is the article that you asked for, Gill:

DRUGS IN CFL Metcalf says problem serious, Corrigall urges study
Thursday, June 24, 1982
MARTY YORK
By MARTY YORK Almost 50 per cent of the players in the Canadian Football League smoke marijuana and a slightly smaller percentage use cocaine, Washington Redskin receiver Terry Metcalf believes.

Hamilton Tiger-Cat linebacker Ben Zambiasi thinks abuse of alcohol is a greater problem in the CFL than marijuana and cocaine but says marijuana use is "not uncommon" when players party.
Jim Corrigall, who retired recently after 11 seasons as a Toronto Argonaut defensive lineman, agrees that alcohol and drug abuse exists within the CFL and recommends strongly that the league "study the problem as soon as possible" and provide some means for players to obtain confidential guidance.
Former Ottawa Rough Rider tight end Tony Gabriel, however, says he knew of no drug abuse in the CFL during his career; Winnipeg Blue Bomber general manager Earl Lunsford says he is not aware of such a problem now; and CFL commissioner Jake Gaudaur says he doesn't believe the problem is serious, although he adds he isn't "naive enough" to believe that no CFL players use illegal drugs.
These opinions follow an article in the June 14 issue of Sports Illustrated in which former Miami Dolphin defensive lineman Don Reese said drug abuse was rampant in the National Football League.
Metcalf, a running back with the Argos from 1978 through 1980, believes the use of illegal drugs is as widespread in the CFL as in the NFL. "In my personal opinion," he said, "close to 50 per cent of the players in both leagues smoke marijuana. I think a little less than that use coke in both leagues. "I think it's a serious problem in both leagues, as it is in society. Just because you're north of the border doesn't mean you don't have the same problem up there. The problem is everywhere." Metcalf noted that marijuana and cocaine use are common in society, but, echoing the sentiments of NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, he said he felt the problem was more serious in football because players' salaries allow them to indulge more frequently in the expensive habit. "It's easier for us to obtain drugs," he said, "because there's more money, especially in the NFL. "But I know a few players from St. Louis (he previously played for the Cardinals), Washington and Canada who lost their homes, their cars and everything they worked so hard to get because of the debts they had to pay drug dealers." After the 1979 CFL season, former Argo assistant coach Mike Faulkiner said use of cocaine and marijuana by some Toronto players may have been responsible for the Argos missing the playoffs. Faulkiner, now an assistant coach with Montreal Concordes, has been widely criticized for that view.
Metcalf says now that there may have been some truth to Faulkiner's comments. "It could have been because of (drugs) that we didn't make the playoffs," Metcalf said, "but the bottom line is that we didn't perform. Whether that was related to drugs, I don't know." Metcalf said that at least one player, a former Argo running back whom he named, used to appear at Toronto practices stoned. "(He) was a young rookie and he was trying to prove how tough he was," Metcalf said. "He went about it the wrong way. People could notice his condition at practice. I remember telling him he had better things to do with his life, but he wouldn't listen." The player in question admitted well after his 1980 release from Toronto that he smoked marijuana in his off hours, and wondered whether it was hampering him. "A lot of it (drug use in football) is peer pressure," Metcalf said. "The players try to show everyone how big and bad they are. One guy who started out in the CFL got so hooked on it that he just had to give up football. . . . A lot of players just say, 'It's my life and, as long as I perform, it doesn't matter about my extracurricular activities.' " Zambiasi said a good friend and former teammate of his with Hamilton "did a lot of drugs, but he showed up fine on game days." The Eastern Division's outstanding defensive player last year and a health buff, Zambiasi said he doesn't use drugs. He said cocaine is not a conspicuous habit among the Ticats, but marijuana is on hand when players get together socially. "When we go to parties, it's always there," he said. "It's not uncommon stuff. I admit I tried it and got nothing out of it, but a lot of the guys smoke it." Like Metcalf, Zambiasi believes football players turn to drugs because of pressure. Unlike Metcalf, he feels the pressure results from the nature of the sport, not from peers.
Zambiasi said the drug problems of a former Argo lineman and a former Ticat lineman were so serious that they ran up large debts. "But I think drinking is more of a problem than drugs," Zambiasi said. "A lot of players in the CFL seem to develop a drinking problem when they near the end of their careers. I'm not sure why that is, but I saw it with (a former Ticat linebacker). He'd come in drunk sometimes." Corrigall agrees with Zambiasi that excessive drinking is more widespread among CFL players than marijuana and cocaine. "But drug problems do exist in the CFL," Corrigall said. "I can't say whether 25 per cent of the players use or abuse or 75 per cent. That would be purely speculative. "But I feel strongly that, before the whole thing blows up in the league's face, it should make some kind of study into the problem. The CFL is an example to young people in our country, and something disastrous could happen if some kind of action isn't taken. "As society goes along, trends and values change in the normal stream of life. It's the same in athletics or football. I know drugs were being experimented with, and I think it would be in the best interest if the league looked into the use and had some kind of seminar or moratorium for the players. "I also maintain that some type of vehicle within the league should be available for players to get help." Gabriel says he never knew of any case during his nine CFL seasons in which a player used illegal drugs. "I'd the say the incidents of alcohol were more prevalent," he said. "Beer was always on ice, but I wouldn't say that was a big deal." Lunsford says he is "not aware of any drug abuse in the CFL now," but adds: "Maybe I'm a little naive about it." A few seasons ago, the Bomber general manager traded kicker Bernie Ruoff to Hamilton after police found marijuana at Ruoff's home.
Gaudaur said: "I don't see the nonmedical use of drugs as a problem that would merit any undue or extraordinary actions on the part of the league at this time. But I feel so strongly on the subject that, if we found evidence that it was a problem, it would behoove us to do something about it." Gaudaur says the federal Government is not making it easier to combat drug abuse in the CFL. "You can't discount the influence that the federal Government has. They've been talking about easing the penalties for marijuana use while the health people talk more and more about the harmful effects of it." Gaudaur suggests there should be more motivation for the professional athlete to avoid drugs, because "he is involved in physical fitness and, if he is not deemed to be physically fit, it can be cause to terminate his contract. "It would be naive to suggest that, in a day when society is oriented more and more in that direction, players in the CFL have somehow exempted themselves." The league issues an updated drug-abuse kit to clubs each year. "We don't moralize or preach in those," Gaudaur said, "because I don't believe that it has any beneficial effect. We simply identify the various drugs and describe the potential harm of their nonmedical use. We also tell them about the law. We ask them to read the kits and come to their own conclusions."

[1argoholic]

Most likely drugs made him a jello brain.

[Argo57]

Most likely drugs made him a jello brain.

Metcalf should expect the CFL attorneys to dredge up every detail of his own drug history.
These cases involving the players of yesterday will be difficult to prove as concussions back then were poorly documented (if documented at all).
He likely suffered head trauma in college, NFL and the CFL then again maybe not, how would a judge decide??

[1argoholic]

Or head trauma falling over and hitting his head while getting out of bed. How can this be proven?

[gilthethrill]

My first ever Argo jersey was a Terry Metcalf #21 Argonaut Jersey that my mom bought me for my birthday out of the Simpson-Sears catalogue. Actually, what seemed like a small purchase at the time got me hooked on the Argos.

[paulwoods13]

My first ever Argo jersey was a Terry Metcalf #21 Argonaut Jersey that my mom bought me for my birthday out of the Simpson-Sears catalogue. Actually, what seemed like a small purchase at the time got me hooked on the Argos.

I still have two of those Metcalf replicas. For the era they were fantastic quality, albeit not completely true to the gamers -- the word Argos was on the front in large type above the numbers, and there was no nameplate. But the colours, striping and sleeve logos were very, very nice.

[gilthethrill]

I still have two of those Metcalf replicas. For the era they were fantastic quality, albeit not completely true to the gamers -- the word Argos was on the front in large type above the numbers, and there was no nameplate. But the colours, striping and sleeve logos were very, very nice.

I am sure I could find another Metcalf on E-Bay....when I got mine I had never watched a football game. Not sure how I found out it was a Metcalf jersey, since there was no internet in 1980. I remember buying the #77 Tony Gabriel jersey too....others in the old catalogue were Warren Moon, Peter Dala Riva...can't recall the rest. I still remember the smell of those stripes...

[ArgoGabe22]

I would be interested in what the Metcalf jersey looks like. Were they made by Makska Superfil? I have a youth Cedric Minter jersey like this one but there is no evidence that is an Argos jersey unless someone knows where they were sold at the time.

It's exactly like this one http://img2.iwascoding.com/0/paid/20...E0D47535F8.jpg

[paulwoods13]

That was an Argo jersey available back then, albeit with the numbers wrong (should be light blue piping tight up against the number rather than white piping separated from the number by dark blue).

[paulwoods13]

Here are pix of the Metcalf fan jersey. It was made by Torrez/Tam O'Shanter.

Attachment 498

Attachment 499

Attachment 500

[larz-7]

sue the cfl sue the nfl sue the collage team you were on, than sue your parents for letting you play .