Watch above: Could Karen Stintz take the helm of the CFL? Laura Zilke reports.
TORONTO – Let the best person for the job lead the CFL, Rob Ford said Friday after suggestions his former colleague Karen Stintz may be interested in becoming the commissioner of the CFL.
Stintz, who dropped out of Toronto’s mayoral race Thursday due to low polling numbers and trouble fundraising, told the National Post during a sit-down interview she’s interested in replacing Mark Cohon as CFL commissioner.
“Well, I am a football fan,” she told the newspaper. “I think that would be a great job. That is definitely a job that I would want to do. It is open now.”
Cohon who has held the position since 2007 recently announced he would step down when his term ends in 2015.
When asked about whether Stintz would succeed as CFL commissioner, Ford told reporters the job should go to whoever is best qualified.
WATCH: Rob Ford weighs in on Karen Stintz’s interest in top CFL job
“Let the best person do the job. Whoever can get the CFL expanded, maybe running profits in all the cities,” he said. “We need someone who is obviously involved in football, enjoys the game and takes a business approach on that.”
If Stintz were to get the job, she may be the first woman to oversee a large professional sports league as the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and CFL have never had females as commissioners.
Lesa France Kennedy, the head of International Speedyway which promotes Nascar, and Linda McMahon, the former head of the WWE who stepped down for an unsuccessful senate run, are among the few women at the helm of sports entertainment in North America.
Women also make up a small portion of executives in Toronto sports. Toronto’s sports teams (the Toronto Maple Leafs, Raptors, Argonauts, Blue Jays and TFC) have approximately 198 staff listed on their websites including coaches, executives, front office staff and management – only 16 are women.
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