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  1. #1
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    CFL Aims for Diversity in Fan Base

    The CFL is attempting to expand its fan base beyond the older white male. As an old white goat who has brought his Filipino wife and two sons to games I say HOORAH!

    As a kid growing up in Peterborough, Ont., Ottawa Redblacks receiver Brad Sinopoli realized his mother Nancy was a bit of an outlier when it came to her passion for the pigskin.“My mom was one of the biggest CFL fans that I’ve ever seen,” says Sinopoli, the most valuable Canadian in the 2016 Grey Cup. “And that was cool because at that time, there weren’t that many women and girls who were into it. And that’s a shame, because you don’t have to play the game to love it.”
    The stereotypical CFL fan may be a white male over 50, but the league is expanding its push to sell the three-down game to fans in all demographics, including that of Mrs. Sinopoli.A new marketing campaign called “Bring It In” launches Sunday with an invitation to all Canadians to join the proverbial huddle with the country’s 150th anniversary fast approaching.“We’re not trying to be overly earnest in this,” says Christina Litz, the CFL’s senior vice-president of marketing and content.“This is just an exciting time to be part of the CFL and we want to make sure all of Canada knows that.”
    The star of the CFL’s new TV spot is a 13-year-old girl who wanders by a pickup game of flag football. A teenage boy spots the young woman and invites her to join the fun.She takes a handoff and breaks free for a touchdown that will no doubt be celebrated by young female viewers who have never seen a woman with a football in her hands on TV.
    “When I was a kid, I was a huge Doug Flutie fan,” Sinopoli says.“I loved Damon Allen when he was in Toronto. So I would just go outside and throw the football to whoever would catch it — my friends, my dad ... It’s great to see how the ad intertwines the professionals with kids playing on the playground. That was me as a kid.”The league collaborated with advertising firm Bensimon Byrne to create a fast-moving TV spot that wouldn’t look out of place if it ran during an NFL game.
    “We were able to develop an idea that was essentially one large invitation to the entire country to experience all of what makes Canadian football so great,” says David Rosenberg, partner and chief creative officer at Bensimon Byrne. “We were able to leverage football vernacular — the idea of ‘bring it in’ being what you say when you’re huddling up essentially — and enlarge that phrase to invite the entire country this summer and fall to bring it in and have a good time watching Canadian football.”

    The CFL is playing offence when it comes to attracting more women and millennials.
    TV ratings jumped 3.5 per cent overall in 2016, but that number climbed eight per cent among viewers aged 18 to 49 and seven per cent among female viewers.In terms of the valuable 18-to 34-year-old demographic, the brand analytics firm IMI International reports a five per cent jump in people identifying themselves as CFL fans.That represents the fastest growth rate of any pro sports league in that age group.
    During the 2016 CFL regular season, 38 per cent of television viewers were women.“We already have an incredibly diverse fan base,” Litz said. “Like every other league and every other sport, of course we’re looking to the next generation of fans.”
    Raised in the heart of football country in Winnipeg, Litz sees the CFL huddle as a metaphor for Canada’s diversity. Some players are shifty and fast. Others are big and strong. Some were born here.
    Others moved from elsewhere to chase their dreams.
    Regardless, they all belong.
    http://www.argofans.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=6
    Last edited by jerrym; 08-14-2017 at 10:20 PM.

  2. #2
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    Chris O'Leary comments on the CFL's diversity program. However, there is some good news on the demographics front for the CFL, as shown below.

    As they took to BMO Field on Nov. 27, 2016, the Ottawa REDBLACKS featured a roster that was a mishmash of talent that had dozens of unique football journeys all intersecting in one history-making win.
    The players were a mix of Canadians and Americans in all shapes and sizes, from five-foot-10, 165-pound defensive back Nicholas Taylor, to six-foot-four, 295-pound defensive tackle Zack Evans. Only football could bring such a wide-ranging group of people together and have them all work for a common goal.
    Just over four months later, a new ragtag group of players assembled on a warm, sunny morning on a football field in Mississauga, Ont. This group of 10 to 13-year olds was on the field shooting a TV ad to help usher in the CFL’s 2017 season, which will be tagged, “Bring It In.”
    Created by Toronto agency Bensimon Byrne, Bring It In aims to tie in Canada’s 150th birthday with the idea of the country being stronger for its differences. These ideas run parallel with football and with the CFL in particular, said Lorne Covant, Bensimon Byrne’s associate creative director.
    “You can have a big kid and a small kid on the same team, but the team won’t win without having those different dynamics, because you need that,” Covant said. “So, Bring It In is about those different components of football in the CFL that make it strong and make it fun and make it exciting. On the field, the players, on the sidelines, the cheerleaders, the fans, all of them. All the different parts of what makes up a football game are what make it awesome.
    “Football and the CFL are all about the sum of the parts that make it amazing. The message here is bring it in, calling people to bring all of those things in.” ...

    “Everything we’re doing this year is about bringing it in and the different variations of what that might mean: Kids bringing it in for football, kids supporting kids, fans bringing it in, players bringing it in, the different things they do,” Covant said. “It comes out of that bigger story of football being better because of the differences of the people who play and watch it.”
    As the chase for the 105th Grey Cup begins when the season kicks off on June 22, the CFL is enjoying an increase in some key demographics (all numbers courtesy of IMI). The CFL is the third-most popular league in terms of percentage of total fans among Canadians aged 18-69, with 51 per cent of those surveyed saying they follow the league on some level. The NHL came first, at 73 per cent, and MLB was second at 55 per cent.
    The CFL saw the largest jump among pro leagues in North America in total fandom among the millennial demographic (18-34-year olds), jumping from 41 to 46 per cent as of January, 2017. One surprising number that IMI’s research turned up: of the 12 million CFL fans in Canada — a third of the population — 4.8 million are in the west, while 7.2 million reside in the rest of the country (including the territories).
    The CFL’s ad will launch on May 7, the same day as the Canadian Draft, when an entire new class of players will bring it in and join the CFL. The ad will air regularly throughout the 2017 season on TSN, the CFL’s exclusive broadcast partner since 2008.
    http://www.cfl.ca/2017/05/05/oleary-...rand-campaign/

  3. #3
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    Here's the CFL ad aimed at increasing diversity among young people.


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    As the following article in undeated.com, an online diversity website, notes the CFL has been far ahead of the NFL in dealing with diversity. However, it has not, until now, focused on that as a strength in building its fan base.

    The NFL continues to lag behind its neighboring league to the north, the Canadian Football League, which has a 60-year legacy of offering greater opportunities, both on the field and off, to African-Americans, who crossed the border to escape racial discrimination at home. The gap between opportunities offered to African-Americans between the two leagues can’t just be measured in dollars or miles, but, in some cases, decades.
    Nothing embodies this better, perhaps, than Jeffrey Orridge, who was named the CFL’s commissioner last year, becoming the first black man to lead a major professional sports league in North America.
    “I think my appointment last year as commissioner of the CFL is just the course of history of progressiveness of ethnic and gender diversity in Canada,” said the 56-year-old Orridge. “It speaks of a long history and heritage of being inclusive of a diversity of talent.”
    https://theundefeated.com/features/c...ersity-issues/

  5. #5
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    The Tiger Cats are one team making strong efforts to broaden their demographic fan base.

    The CFL has traditionally struggled in attracting younger fans. A 2015 study from the University of Lethbridge found that the league’s top demographic was men 55 and over, with 47 per cent of respondents saying they followed the league. That dropped to 39 per cent for males those between the ages of 35 and 54, and to 26 per cent for those at 18 to 34.
    However, the team and the CFL has made a strong push to attract a younger audience over the past couple of years, and Mitchell says that’s starting to pay dividends.
    “We’re very excited in the trends we’re seeing in new season seat holders and our renewals of our first- and second-year season seat holders,” he said. “It’s allowed us to change the demographics within our fan base, combining that younger demographic with our hardcore fans.”
    According to Matt Afinec, the executive vice-president business operations, the team has added a number of new season ticket holders since moving into Tim Hortons Field mid-way through 2014. Many of those are young families and millennials attracted to affordable season ticket packages and “out of seat” viewing areas like end zones and concourses, as well as the branded spaces like Coors Light Patio and the Pioneer Energy Zone.
    “Keeping this segment engaged in the brand via purchasing season seats is crucial to our business,” Afinec said, adding, “the premium inventory at Tim Hortons Field such as the club level and suites has been a transformational part of our business.”
    After struggling financially for years, Mitchell says the Ticats have achieved economic stability since moving into the new facility. While the stadium is still mired in legal disputes that are preventing the team from hosting a Grey Cup — Mitchell had little to offer by way of an update on that front — Mitchell said the focus is now clearly on the on-field product.
    “We’ve accomplished everything we wanted to accomplish.” he said. “With the sole exception of winning a Grey Cup.”
    http://3downnation.com/2017/05/03/th...nger-audience/

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    Last year the CFL linked up with You Can Play to launch a create a new set of apparel aimed at helping to diversify its fanbase.

    The line of lifestyle headware and apparel is the next step in the relationship between the CFL and You Can Play and highlights the League’s commitment to equality and diversity. It features New Era hats and stylish items from Levelwear, including t-shirts and polos, and is supported by all nine CFL teams and several CFL licensing partners. 25% of the proceeds from the sale of these items will fund You Can Play’s activities and outreach within Canada. ...
    a celebration at Bymark in downtown Toronto will follow and signal the coming together of the sport community and LGBTQ leaders to commemorate this partnership. The launch will feature remarks from the Commissioner regarding the CFL’s commitment to creating safe and welcoming spaces for all athletes, staff, and fans to play, work, and cheer. ...
    “We are incredibly excited to share this important opportunity with fans of every CFL team to show their pride,” said CFL Commissioner Jeffrey L. Orridge. “We have a deep commitment to LGBTQ inclusion on the field, in the stands, and in our boardrooms, locker rooms, and front offices. I’m proud that our strong partnership with You Can Play is reaching this new level, and we’re looking forward to furthering this relationship.”“You Can Play is extremely proud to partner with the Canadian Football League in providing a way for teams and fans to show their support for LGBT athletes, coaches and fans,” said Glenn Witman, Co-Founder of You Can Play. “This merchandise will be worn with pride by fans of both the CFL and equality.”
    https://www.cfl.ca/2016/06/16/cfl-la...-apparel-line/

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    Here's an example of the apparel that was part of the You Can Play program featuring former Argo Brian Bulcke.

    On June 16, 2016 the CFL launched a new You Can Play apparel line to promote and support LGBTQ inclusion in sport. The full release can be seen here but the new stylish headwear and apparel highlights the League’s commitment to equality and diversity. 25% of the proceeds from the sale of these items will fund You Can Play’s activities and outreach within Canada. You can see all the apparel at CFLShop.ca but here is a quick look at some of the gear and our guys sporting it!
    Brian Bulcke – Toronto Argonauts
    http://www.thesnap.ca/look-new-cfl-c...-apparel-line/

  8. #8
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    Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star discusses the CFL Diversity video in which a pre-teen girl watches a game behind a fence and then is attracted onto the field. Good to see some favourable coverage of the CFL in the Star.

    The team behind the campaign explained that its tagline — “Bring It In” — is a virtuous double entendre.

    On the field, it’s the phrase coaches and captains often shout to summon players to a huddle.
    In the marketplace, it’s a call for inclusiveness, cutting across demographic lines to invite prospective fans to experience the CFL.
    The league collaborated with ad firm Bensimon Byrne, the company behind Justin Trudeau’s campaign ads before the 2015 federal election. And with Canada’s 150th anniversary looming, the league and its creative partner hoped to emphasize values they view as Canadian.


    “It’s a play on the … inclusiveness the league has always showed. The diversity, the acceptance,” says David Rosenberg, partner and chief creative officer at Bensimon Byrne. “We’ve taken football vernacular and enlarged the meaning.”
    The new marketing push comes amid instability at the executive level.
    In mid-April, the league announced commissioner Jeffrey Orridge would step down in June after just over two years on the job. Neither the league nor Orridge, the first black commissioner of a major North American sports league, would elaborate on the reasons for his departure. But a news release made clear Orridge and the CFL board had differing visions for the league’s future.
    Still, with its emphasis on diversity and inclusion, the new campaign appears to extend Orridge’s commitment to cultivating non-traditional audiences. Under his leadership, the league signed its first openly gay player, former U.S. college star Michael Sam, while Orridge became the first CFL commissioner to march in Toronto’s Pride Parade.
    Similar efforts to attract millennials and women appear to have paid off.
    According to brand analytics firm IMI International, the number of 18- to 34-year-olds identifying as CFL fans grew by more than 3 per cent last year, the fastest growth rate in that demographic among Canada’s pro sports leagues.
    Meanwhile, CFL TV ratings rose 3.5 per cent overall in 2016, and 8 per cent among 18- to 49-year-olds compared with the previous year, according to the league, which also reports a 7 per cent increase in viewership among women.
    “Those needles have really moved since the relaunch of the campaign,” says Neal Covant, VP of consumer insights at IMI International.
    The commercial isn’t meant to be political, says Christina Litz, the CFL’s senior VP of marketing and content. But she acknowledged the political climate in the U.S., where Donald Trump traded on racial and religious animus on the way to winning the presidential election, provides context for the league’s decision to market its diversity.
    “We still have common values in this country,” Litz says. “Certain things … define us against our neighbours to the south and against the rest of the world.”
    Except that Trump-style populism doesn’t stop at the border. After the U.S. election, Conservative MP and leadership candidate Kellie Leitch called Trump’s win “an exciting message that needs to be delivered in Canada.”
    Meanwhile, when ESPN laid off reporters last week, conservative commentators argued the company’s alleged liberal politics and commitment to on-air diversity alienated viewers and squeezed revenue. Subsequent analysis has shown ESPN’s subscriber base has eroded as customers continue to dump their cable packages, a trend unrelated to politics.
    Covant says CFL fan support is similarly unthreatened by the league actively engaging a more diverse audience.
    “It hasn’t had a negative effect at all,” he says. “The diehards still love you. What they’re doing is bringing in new fans: the younger audience and the female audience.”
    https://www.thestar.com/sports/footb...llennials.html

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    Players on the sideline of the BC-Riders game warmup wore "Diversity is Strength" T-shirts on the front and the names of players of more than 30 national and ethnic backgrounds. Some non-active players also wore them on the sidelines during the game, including former Argo Chad Owens. The CFL needs to continue expanding beyond its traditional base through this kind of promotion.



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    Faster + Louder = Better

  11. #11
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    Although Michael Sam played only one game for the Als in 2015, the team is now focusing with the LGBTQ community on raising diversity awareness in this area. The rest of the league should look at doing more of this.

    Jean-Sebastien Boudreault said he was pleasantly surprised last April when Alouettes vice-president (marketing) Bernard Asselin approached him, saying the Canadian Football League team wanted to form a partnership with Canada Pride Montreal. ...
    As part of the first national edition of Canada Pride — an 11-day event celebrating Canada’s LGBTQ community that began on Aug. 10 in Montreal — the Als and event organizer Fierté Montréal engaged in a joint venture. A section at Molson Stadium was devoted to Canada Pride Montreal for last Friday’s game against the Toronto Argonauts, with $5 from every ticket sold donated to Équipe Montreal, an organization representing LGBTQ sports leagues throughout the province.As well, Alouettes general manager Kavis Reed recorded a bilingual video, posted on Facebook, in which he implores everyone to work toward a more inclusive world. The player’s helmets were adorned with the rainbow flag for the game and the logo will remain on the back of their helmets this Saturday, when the teams meet again at Toronto’s BMO Field. Major League Soccer’s Impact have a similar collaborative effort for Wednesday’s home game against Chicago.

    Organized by Fierté Montréal, and modelled on the EuroPride and WorldPride event, more than 750,000 spectators are expected to attend various events and concerts. And Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has confirmed his participation at this Sunday’s parade in Montreal.
    Asselin said the involvement made perfect sense because one of the team’s mandates is to become an integral part of the community. “We want to be part of the fabric and the buzz in Montreal,” he said.
    Boudreault, in turn, was quick to applaud the Als for what he deemed to be a genuine commitment. “We were surprised, but in a good way. We were super thrilled,” he said.
    “One of the last bastions, where there’s still so much homophobia, is in professional sports,” said Boudreault, who hopes to work with the Als on an annual basis and has approached the NHL’s Canadiens as well. ...
    Reed, a free thinker with a liberal attitude, said he has relatives in South Carolina, as well as friends, in the LGTBQ community. ...

    “If I stand in a room and I’m different and someone else is different, and I have a lack of tolerance or acceptance, that’s hypocrisy,” he explained. “Inclusiveness in sports, just like in society, is very important. Everyone should be accepted for who they are and what they stand for.
    “We’re all different in some way, but we’re all the same,” he added. “Regardless of our (sexual) preference, we’re all human beings. When we have that respect for each other, society becomes a lot better place.”
    With that attitude, it wasn’t a coincidence Reed developed a bond with Sam during his brief CFL career. They spoke often, usually at Reed’s insistence, because he sensed the signing was going to become a media circus that would make Sam uncomfortable.
    “A lot of people didn’t understand. A lot of people didn’t take the time to know the person beyond just the headlines,” Reed said. “You knew it was going to be all about him and his status.”
    Reed said he found Sam humorous and extremely intelligent, someone who could discuss politics and world events, and could articulate his feelings in a cogent manner. ...

    Reed said it was “extremely tough” for Sam in the dressing room and some players were uncomfortable being around him.
    Boudreault said he can understand this; that things will always be complicated in a locker room where players must get naked shower together. As much as there are players who will be uncomfortable in that surrounding, a gay athlete must be mentally strong enough to handle any controversy. But, he added, the organization must be there to support them.
    http://montrealgazette.com/sports/fo...gbtq-community
    Last edited by jerrym; 08-19-2017 at 08:10 PM.

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    Ottawa RedBlacks have also been involved in the Capital Pride Week for a couple of seasons. This year they will have their annual Pride Game on August 26th ahead of the Capital Pride Parade in which several RedBlack players will participate on August 27th.

    “Having the REDBLACKS participate in Ottawa Capital Pride events is a welcome message to Ottawa’s LGBTQ2 community that everyone has a place in the world of sports regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” added Tammy Dopson, Chair of the Ottawa Capital Pride Board of Directors.
    https://www.ottawaredblacks.com/2017...ride-festival/

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    Here is the latest CFL ad on its Diversity is Strength promo.

    https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/18/diversity-is-strength/

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    The Diversity is Strength program is having a broad impact. For example, for the first time in its history, the CFL was on CNN International when Commissioner Randy Ambrosie was interviewed about the initiative. He noted that the initiative's goal was to send a positive message about "how diversity has played a powerful role in who we are" by acting "as a lighthouse on a distant shore" by serving "as a reminder of how great things can be if we all pull together."

    https://www.cfl.ca/2017/08/17/ambros...international/

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    Commissioner Randy Ambrosie, as well as Argo GM Jim Popp and the newly hired Argo Director of Football Administration, Catherine Raiche, will be attending the NFL's Women's Careers in Football Forum in a further attempt to diversify the CFL fan base.

    The NFL will host its second Women’s Careers in Football Forum Jan. 26-27 during Pro Bowl Week. Fifty women, selected from a pool of more than 400 applicants and representing five countries (United States, Canada, Panama, Germany and Australia), will participate in the second-annual event in Orlando. The Forum will feature panel discussions, breakout sessions, and networking sessions aimed to educate and prepare women for careers in Football Operations, including coaching, officiating, scouting and football front office positions.
    Twenty-two of the women who participated in the inaugural Forum are working in Football Operations across professional, collegiate and high school football, including nine who obtained internships in the NFL (see below).
    https://www.cfl.ca/2018/01/18/ambros...ootball-forum/

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    During the games of weeks 10 and 11 from August 17th to 25th the league will honour how diversity has strengthened the league and the country. There will be special tributes to twelve of the league's diversity trailblazers: Herb Trawick, Bernie Custis, Wally Buono, Jo Ann Polack, Johnny Bright, Joe Moss, John Helton, Herm Harrison, Orlando Bowen, Neal Hughes, Obby Khan, and Moton Hopkins. I'm surprised they left out Normie Kwong.

    “This initiative builds on the strength of the campaign we launched a year ago, when CFL coaches, players and fans rallied around this positive message by donning Diversity Is Strength t-shirts,” said Commissioner Randy Ambrosie.
    “Football is the ultimate team game because it welcomes and includes participants from every background as well as of every shape and size. It’s in this spirit that we invite and welcome all Canadians, be they Canadians by birth or Canadians by choice, to join us in our stadiums.” ...


    CFL teams will incorporate a wide variety of activations and activities into their individual Diversity is Strength gamedays. Some teams will be hosting visitors and fans from remote areas of Canada or facilitating citizenship ceremonies to welcome new Canadians to our country and our game. Fans can experience pregame and halftime cultural showcases as teams celebrate their heritage and community.
    This year, participating teams will wear special edition t-shirts (in team colours) on the sidelines and during the pre-game walkthrough that honour trailblazers such as Tiger-Cat Bernie Custis, the first black quarterback in professional football, and Ottawa’s Jo-Anne Polak, the first female general manager in the CFL and in North American professional sport.
    https://www.cfl.ca/2018/08/08/cfl-ho...ngth-campaign/

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    In 1946 Herb Trawick was the first Black player to play in the CFL.

    Trawick was the first African-American player to suit up in the CFL. His transition to a new country was ultimately successful and came at the same time that Jackie Robinson was playing with the Montreal Royals (the two were friends, Trawick Jr. says). What likely bonded them was that despite breaking the colour barrier, they were running into similar obstacles, especially in the early days. ...

    “And then obviously it got better. I don’t know that it was as harsh in Canada as it was in the U.S. Although I do know that there were hardships, for sure.”
    Playing offensive and defensive line, Trawick made an immediate impact with the Als, being named an all-star in his rookie season; his first of five consecutive selections and seven through a 12-year career.

    At the end of those first few seasons, offseason job opportunities were limited, despite Trawick graduating from school with two degrees.
    “I think there were times in the offseasons where he was a doorman. There were times where he sold shoes. There were times he wrestled,” Trawick Jr. said. ...

    At the end of those first few seasons, offseason job opportunities were limited, despite Trawick graduating from school with two degrees.
    “I think there were times in the offseasons where he was a doorman. There were times where he sold shoes. There were times he wrestled,” Trawick Jr. said.
    https://www.cfl.ca/2018/08/08/trawic...olour-barrier/

  18. #18
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    Former Argo and Tiger Cat Orlando Bowen, who gives speeches on diversity to the Ontario Police College, will be the player honoured at the BC at Toronto game on Saturday August 18. Bowen, who was beaten up by police, allegedly had drugs planted on him and was charged with assaulting police and trafficking cocaine. He was acquitted when an arresting officer was charged with cocaine trafficking.

    With the Argos, Bowen threw himself into volunteer work. There was Crimestoppers, Sick Kids, Covenant House, the Boys and Girls Club. With the assault and the charges against him, all of that was put in jeopardy until the case was sorted out.
    When the case ended and Bowen was clear of any trouble, he had every right to be angry toward the police, to sever ties with law enforcement and focus his energy elsewhere. While he continued to spread his efforts into helping kids, he found himself continually thinking of the two officers.
    He’d think back to how he watched one of the officers take an oath in court, then in Bowen’s eyes, lie about everything that happened that night.

    “In that moment, all I could think was what kind of pain must he have been through or trauma could he have been through to allow him that capacity to do that to another human being, when he knows the truth,” Bowen said.
    “We needed to get through this so we could be a voice for those that consider themselves voiceless and for folks who may encounter situations that they would consider to be hopeless.”
    In 2014, he voiced what he couldn’t in that courtroom and shared a letter that he had written during the trial to the two officers. Bowen forgave them. Surviving that night helped put the rest of the days in front of him in perspective. ...

    Since 2016, Bowen has worked with the Ontario Police College as a member of the training advisory roundtable as part of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. It’s a role that many people with Bowen’s experience might reject, but he wants to see change. He wants it to be us together, not us against them.
    https://www.cfl.ca/2018/08/08/police...uit-community/

  19. #19
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    Jo Ann Polak became the first female GM in North American sports when hired by the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1988, bringing business experience to a job that was typically occupied by football insiders, something the team and the CFL badly needed at the time.

    “We were already down to eight teams and we were very concerned that if one more team went, whether the league could even sustain that,” Polak said over the phone from Ottawa, where she’s currently the VP of communications for Canada Post. She’s also quick to tell you that she’s a REDBLACKS season ticket holder. ...

    “We’d lost our television contract with CTV. We were paycheque-to-paycheque, hand-to-mouth. The hardest thing was trying to come up with payroll the day after the game at three o’clock. There were a lot of games where I didn’t know if I was going to make payroll. That was the hard part.” ...


    The first female executive in the CFL and the first female general manager of a sports team in North America, Polak said she didn’t think about being the only woman in the room when she started the job.
    “To be honest, when I look back now, I was 29. I don’t think anybody had any idea I was 29, which doesn’t say much for my beauty routine, but being a woman was one thing. Being 29 is another thing,” she said. “Running a weak franchise financially is another thing. I think a lot of people were in my corner and were rooting for me.” ...

    “I had to come to this with a view of, ‘I’m young, I’m new, I’m a rookie and I have not proven myself,” she said. “Nobody accepts anybody until they’ve proven themselves in this culture, in the culture of professional sports. I felt they warmed up to me as the years went by and as we stabilized the franchise and had success.” ...

    “If you come into that room with a ‘You better accept me, you better accept this woman,’ that’s the wrong approach to come into any room,” she said. “With people like that who are legends and who have had years of success, you come to that room with the gratitude and you come to that room with the awe that they deserve. After a while everybody completely forgets that you’re a woman and you’re one of the other teams and they’re competing against you.”


    https://www.cfl.ca/2018/08/08/story-made-history-polak-just-wanted-keep-ottawa-afloat/


  20. #20
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    National Neal Hughes was a Metis RB/ST player with the Riders.

    Neal Hughes remembers being a kid in Regina and hearing what was said sometimes about First Nations people.
    “I’m not a visible First Nations person,” Hughes, who is Metis, said, “People will start talking, saying some things. I just speak up and if it’s across the line I let them know it’s not appropriate. “I like to try and bring a positive light to my cultural background. I’ve learned a lot about it and it’s a positive thing. Every walk that we come from should be proud of our roots and proud of where we come from.”
    Born and bred in Regina, Hughes came through the local minor football system to play for the University of Regina Rams. He lived out his childhood dream of not only playing for the Riders (2004-2015), but won Grey Cups with the team in 2007 and on home soil in 2013. ...

    His path to the Riders wasn’t an easy one. “I grew up and it was government funded housing by a Metis organization in Regina,” he said. “My parents did everything they could to help me play football. That included going down to the pawn shop and pawning off some things to be able to afford for registration for me to play. They did everything they could in their power to be able to afford for myself to be able to play football.”

    While with the Riders, Hughes went across the province, speaking to kids at schools about bullying and inclusion.
    “Myself, Brendon Labatte and Dan Clark a few years ago had the opportunity to do a little visit to northern communities. We flew to Pelican Narrows and Stony Rapids and visited communities that are way, far north. They never really had opportunities to see people that played in the CFL. It was neat to bring that positive energy to those schools and talk about bullying and diversity. What I tried to do through the Riders and my teaching experiences was just kind of let people know that it’s OK. Especially the First Nations, Aboriginal students. You can still succeed in the world, no matter what anybody else tries to tell you.”

    Hughes understands the impact that guest speakers can have on school-aged kids. A smaller guy on the field, he remembers then-Rider and current Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive coordinator Richie Hall speaking at his school when he was a kid, just getting to know football. “(Hall) was the smallest guy I could ever see playing football (Hall is five-foot-six). I took that as some motivation,” Hughes said. “I wasn’t a huge guy either, but he just said, ‘You play with heart and play with character.’ I did my best to do that.

    https://www.cfl.ca/2018/08/08/hughes...l-experiences/

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