FROM 3DOWNNATION.COM: SO LONG CFL.CA
By: Drew Edwards
3DownNation.com
The CFL has parted ways with two prominent contributors to its website.
3DownNation deputy editor and Sportsnet contributor Justin Dunk as well as Riders play-by-play man Rod Pedersen have both been informed their content will no longer be posted on the league’s site. Dunk provided quarterback rankings, feature pieces and was the backbone of the site’s draft coverage while Pedersen wrote a weekly column on the Roughriders. Both were paid on a freelance basis and had verbal commitments that their work would be published for the duration of the season.
Dunk’s reporting of the roster violations in Saskatchewan on 3DownNation and other stories he’s broken this season were drawing complaints from clubs around the league. His status as a full-time employee of Sportsnet, the main rival to league rights holder TSN, was also a source of tension. During the last two CFL Drafts, his live Tweeting of the picks before they were announced by the league on TSN, caused quite a stir.
As for Pedersen. his assertion there is a CFL-led conspiracy and witch hunt against the Riders – which he espoused both on Twitter and on his popular blog – was enough to get him removed from the league’s official online vehicle (he still writes for the Riders team site.) He’s also been critical of CFL commissioner Jeffery Orridge on multiple occasions.
While CFL’s decision is understandable on some level, the decision to purge a well-respected insider and a popular commentator is an indication that it’s only interested in fluffy, good news pieces while avoiding potentially newsworthy or controversial issues the league and teams may be facing. It certainly sends a message to other contributors employed by the site that there could be consequences for coverage that could be perceived as critical. Other North American professional sports leagues, including the NFL, NHL and MLB, employ professional journalists and commentators to cover the league with a significant degree of independence.
“We thank Justin and Rod for their contributions and wish them well in the future,” said a CFL director of communications Paulo Senra. “We have nothing further to say at this time.”
Of course, Pedersen has his own platform – several actually – and Dunk’s content will remain a fixture on 3DownNation for the foreseeable future. The CFL may shy away from breaking news, analysis and controversy but we certainly won’t.
http://3downnation.com/2016/09/16/cfl-punts-dunk-pedersen-website/
LOL
I just roared when I read this. It was so laughable that it defies description. It's incredulous that the CFL is going to be sending a message at this juncture of their existence. Ratings are going down, they have nothing but problems far and wide. They have instituted new rules nobody likes, have incompetents running their command centre replays, incompetent game officials, and are holding on by their teeth. Their biggest contribution so far has been their new "CFL" Logo. The Commissioner is an insecure little minion, who in the business world would have a tough time landing a job… Read more »
The CFL indeed proved a point…………..
The point was Rod was right on the money……
A bunch of jackasses who cut off their nose to spite their face……
What a joke the Head Office is………
No need to worry Mr. Pedersen as this clown Orridge is out the door in due time as more and more of the CFL fanbase and players will soon turn the tide with a disapproval to the leagues direction that is ruining the on field product.
That website is a joke anyway.
Way to go Jeffery Putin, whoops, I mean Orridge.
Guess they can’t fine them for articles detrimental to the league, so instead they get rid of them.
I love the CFL…. in the off season I am always chomping at the bit waiting for training camp. This year I can't wait for the season to be over. All the delays in the games and video replay make watching paint dry more exciting. Orridge has taking this league backwards. If he knows he is not welcome to the biggest event in the CFL beside the Grey Cup (Plaza of Honor Dinner) he should leave now before he folds the league.
Darcy from Regina
Well this isn't that shocking is it? This blog has been sewering Orridge pretty hard for quite a while now… The riders are kinda a big deal for he CFL, but at some point enough is enough.
I would expect both men should be fine. Nobody actually goes to cfl.ca anyway do they? I have gone through a few links to specific stories, but I dont spend a whole lot of time there.
"NOBODY" goes to for any reason. Any renumeration Rod would receives from this is no doubt insignificant and is of no concern to him I'm sure. He is doing the league a favour more than anything else. His website, blog and profile is much greater than the CFL's, but Orridge is clearly not mentally acute enough to realize it. Rod has a lot more information that he should feel free to disseminate to Rider fans. The line in the sand has been drawn and as far as most fans are concerned, long overdue. The league has been in a decline… Read more »
Oh boy, what a crazy messed up league this has become. I agree there is a lot of scrambling going on to save face but it's far too late. Players, Coaches, Fans and Sports Reporters are striking out at the incompetence that is the CFL.. A whole bunch of new stadiums could be quite empty if things don't improve. Perhaps the powers that be need to go back a few years to when the CFL was growing in popularity and re evaluate how they approach next year. Better do something soon before the league is no more.
I got quite a laugh reading this. This clown that calls himself a commissioner should step down before he runs this league into oblivion. I have never been more frustrated as a fan trying to watch this league this year. College and NFL are more fun to watch. Our league has never looked more Mickey Mouse than ever before with flag after flag then how about a few challenge flags to top it off!! Hey Rod stick to what you're doing. You do it well and with great professionalism which is why you have people from across Canada coming to… Read more »
In my opinion the mic in the helmet the iPad on the sidelines the eye in the sky the challenge flag and plays under review are ruining this great game. No going to watch much longer.
Monday Morning Goalie should be SOOOOO worth reading on Monday. Now that Rod isn't employed with the CFL gongshow operations, he can really open things up on the blog. In the words of Bart Scott, "Can't Wait"
Anonymous said…
In my opinion the mic in the helmet the iPad on the sidelines the eye in the sky the challenge flag and plays under review are ruining this great game.
September 17, 2016
I totally agree, take away the technology and you'd have a lot better game. The way it is now, you don't know whether to cheer a good play or not, until the control center has okayed it and a pretty good percentage of the time they are wrong.
SWC
Can't see myself watching this joke of a league much longer, and that's after 55 plus years. Thanks Mr Commissioner. You have turned a 100 year plus into a joke.
Dave in Medicine Hat
Poor little minion Orridge poking dried sh*t that can't be stirred. He gone and went too far with no turning back now. Domino consequences to follow with pinhead jeff at the forefront to bear the brunt of his bungled misguided misdirection and rightly so.
The Cakewalker.