Johnny Manziel

[AngeloV]

That's like saying politicians should investigate whether other politicians are on the take. Independent reporting to hold the powerful accountable is a requirement of democracy, and the same basic principle applies to an institution like the CFL. If no one independent reports on it, rules can be broken with impunity. The league doesn't have the investigative know-how or resources to determine if teams are contravening the salary cap -- all it can go by is whatever info the teams provide voluntarily. If a team was hiding spending, the chance of it being uncovered by the league or other teams is very low. Whether Dunk is a journalist or a "glorified blogger" is a matter of opinion, but we need journalists to report on what's happening in the league, even if some of that reporting makes the league or teams uncomfortable.

You are comparing serious issues here to entertainment (sports), Paul. I love the Argos and the league as much as anyone, but I personally don't care about these type of things. The only good that might come out of this? Maybe the league will decide to rid themselves of the outdated neg lists they have. All non draft eligible players should be free agents IMO, especially now that the league has a true salary cap.

[paulwoods13]

You are comparing serious issues here to entertainment (sports), Paul. I love the Argos and the league as much as anyone, but I personally don't care about these type of things. The only good that might come out of this? Maybe the league will decide to rid themselves of the outdated neg lists they have. All non draft eligible players should be free agents IMO, especially now that the league has a true salary cap.

I would be happy to see the end of neg lists, but I stand by my belief that even "fun and games" deserve to be come under scrutiny from journalists. As someone who spends a not-insignificant amount of money on this entertainment, I want to feel confident that it is a level playing field with fair competition. I didn't like the Roughriders practising with extra/unsigned players and allowing injured-list players to practise with actives, and I'm glad it came to light and sanctions were issued. Although in that case I think the journalists covering the Roughriders dropped the ball -- the story was broken, more or less, by a Bo Levi Mitchell tweet. Anyone covering the team in Regina could and arguably should have counted bodies and noticed injured guys on the field.