The Canadian Football League’s list of 2019 team award winners has been released and as usual, it comes with some controversy.
Full disclosure: I used to have a vote during my seven years as play-by-play announcer of Hamilton Tiger-Cats games on 900 CHML, but I no longer receive a ballot.
How does the voting work? Each of the CFL’s nine cities has five voting members — the head coach of that particular team and four members of the Football Reporters of Canada.
So how did the voters screw up this year?
Let’s start with the biggest omission. Blue Bombers running back Andrew Harris, the CFL’s three-time reigning rushing champion, did not receive the nomination for Winnipeg’s Most Outstanding Player or Most Outstanding Canadian awards.
The nods went to team sack leader Willie Jefferson and special teams tackling machine Mike Miller, respectively.
Word out of Winnipeg is that despite getting support for the Top Canadian honour from head coach Mike O’Shea and legendary Bombers’ play-by-play voice Bob Irving, Harris’ two-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance cost him the one other vote he needed.
Yet, in Hamilton, the voting group looked past the two-game suspension that was given to Tiger-Cats linebacker Simoni Lawrence for his late head shot that concussed then-Saskatchewan Roughriders QB Zach Collaros in the first game of the season, anointing Lawrence as the team’s Most Outstanding Defensive player.
Whether or not you believe Harris’ claim that he unknowingly took an anabolic steroid that was in an over-the-counter supplement, the fact of the matter is he served his penalty.
Lawrence, too, served his penalty, but is still being recognized for his exploits on the field.
Both players deserve to be honoured for their fantastic seasons, but it’s clear the standards are different across the league.