MAAS, ESKIMOS PREPARED FOR PUNISHMENT AFTER MIC’D UP BOYCOTT
MONTREAL – Edmonton Eskimos coach Jason Maas and quarterback Mike Reilly refused to wear television microphones during their victory over Montreal on Monday because they didn’t want any distractions.
And they are prepared to live with the consequences, if there are any.
The head coaches and quarterbacks of both clubs were supposed to be mic’d up for the TSN telecast. Montreal coach Jacques Chapdelaine and quarterback Rakeem Cato wore them.
“They can’t hold a gun to your head to make you do it so we just decided not to do it,” said Maas. “It’s what’s right for our football club, not what’s right for the other people, that’s the bottom line.
“We just decided between Mike and I not to do it and we’ll live with the consequences.”
The CFL released a statement that said it will review the matter this week.
`”We are aware that Eskimos’ head coach Jason Maas and quarterback Mike Reilly did not wear live microphones,” it said. “Any decision on discipline will be made later this week when we review all potential football related discipline.”
Reilly said he checked with the CFL Players Association and was told it was his choice whether to wear the microphone or not.
“I never signed any contract to put on a microphone during a game,” he said. “If I felt comfortable doing it I would have been more than happy to do it.”
“I’m here to win games and I don’t think I would have played a very good game if I had other concerns. It’s hard enough to play this position when you have a clear head and you’re only thinking about football.”
As for any league discipline, Reilly said: “They’ll deal with it however they deal with it and that’s what’s going to happen. You can’t change anything about it now. We played the game, we got the win and that’s all I care about.”
However, Montreal coach Jacques Chapdelaine felt it gave the Eskimos an unfair advantage. He understood from the league that it was mandatory and wondered if, when the Eskimos refused to wear them, the Alouettes should also have been given that choice.
“That wasn’t communicated to us, so you could say, from a playing field, maybe it wasn’t entirely level for both sides,” said Chapdelaine, adding that wearing microphones is a progressive idea to try to enhance the broadcasts and the league.
“Those types of decisions go against that opportunity to make our league look better,” he said. “The final judgment or decision is really not mine.
“It belongs to people at a higher level than I am. I would hope that, as a league, we can be a little more on the same page and be a bit more professional about those things.”
(Canadian Press)
Once they allowed the Eskimos to opt out of wearing the mics, they should have informed the Als so they could decide if they still wanted to go ahead with it or not. Bad move on someone's part!
Typical Edmonton.
Just more and more glaring evidence of the massive disconnect and lack of control Orridge has on this league. Scary to think what the league's going to look like by the time his contract is up.
Governor Pence
If it isn't compulsory who really cares. And besides nobody that I have ever talked to likes it anyway. Believe me with those Mics on these coaches and players will never ever say the things that they would without them. Get rid of them once and for all.
How many people sit and wait for the day for the players to have a Mic on…don't figure to many fans care and if they did it would be the players that smack talk which aren't the guys having to wear them. Also call it weird but I am watching my team hopefully to play well and win not here what they are saying or trying to figure out what they are meaning…maybe the CFL should pay attention to things that are a little more important to the game and make it better.
Complete slap in the face to the integrity of the CFL
Verrrrrry Winnipegish
Who cares what the coach or QB says during a game. Is that supposed to be entertaining? Why don't they ask the fans what they think? My guess it wouldn't matter a tinkers damn to most. What are supposed to learn? We don't speak their language and don't understand what they are communicating. Montreal was at a disadvantage. When the League found out Edmonton was not going to Mic up why didn't the officials inform Montreal? The Command Centre or League Office needs to stop looking at dumb ideas and fix the obvious breakdown of the game due to stupid… Read more »
Agree with all the comments. Most fans don't like the mic thing and it's obvious QB's and Coaches don't either. It's distracting with PBP and mic going on. Poor innovation to dump on everyone. The CFL has so many problems to correct (Orridge and more) that getting into this was so unnecessary. This league under poor leadership is continuing the downward spiral with no relief in sight. The BC/Winnipeg fiasco and subsequently wrong call by the command center has put Glen Johnson into the spotlight again. He of course is from Winnipeg and there has been a inordinately high number… Read more »
CFL + game day mics = amateur hour bush league!
You guys saying "they should have let the Al's know and have a choice" haven't quite connected the dots here. Maas and Reilly decided to "just not wear 'em". They didn't tell anyone – at one point TSN personnel were scrambling thinking that they had a technical problem because they weren't informed that the coach and QB just left the mics in the dustbin. There was no opportunity for anyone to tell the Als that the other team were not wearing mics – heck for all we know they didn't find out until after the game was over. I know… Read more »
I enjoyed the mic'd up last season when it was a random offensive or defensive player. The insight was more of what it was like to be on the field during the game. They didn't play it live, they took snippets of the audio, edited it during the game and played it during breaks in play. You got to hear a bit of smack talk and the crunch of the tackles etc.
The verbiage from coach to QB to the players in the huddle is mostly their own language and doesn't entertain me at all.
How about mic up the refs?!?! You would get more insight into the game, some of what the coaches and players are dealing with, but you wouldn't be getting any trade secrets. Of course, with the CFL mum on officiating & protecting their own, this would be a longshot at best.
The play by play guys, just need to clue in a bit more, rather than blabber over top of everything. I know I prefer to hear what's going on on-field more that the commentary most of the time anyway.
One way around being mic'd up and not have TSN televise anything is just drop an f-bomb every second or third word and the producer will get tired of editing it.
Ron – Saskatoon
Leave the mics away from the field of play. Who understands what is being said anyway? The talking heads do too much talking anyway and the on field stuff just adds to the distraction. While they are at it sack Rod Black and Matt Dunigan.
George Porge if you would have seen the game you would have a more informed comment…TSN announced that the Eskimos were not wearing the Mic's in the first quarter over live TV so quit being dramatic and making it look worse then it is…Eskies will most likely get fined worse then you guys having two teams worth of guys to practice…makes sense right.
George Porge you should also learn how to read because Mike Reilly stated it was no where in a contract he had signed or agreed to do it and CFLPA told him it was his decision…so quit stating they agreed to do it because he didn't.
Also one more point to make…it wasn't fair when the game started, not due to the fact of the mic's but just that Montreal is not a good football team.
TSN pays $40,000,000 per season for the rights to broadcast games. The Eskimos should lose 1/18th (one game) of their share of TSN revenue. Clean and simple for the league to fine them for absolute diregard for the Board of Governors decision that all teams be mic'd up one game.
Anonymous – I did watch the game and I can read. Reilly and Maas agreed (like the other coaches did) initially to wear the mics. Then they decided to "forget" them when suiting up for the game. TSN "announced" it in the first quarter once they found out about the mics not being worn by the coach or QB.
About that "reading" and "watching the game" now?