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Tiger-Cats star threatens to ‘retire’ if 2021 CFL season is scrapped

Hamilton Tiger-Cats receiver Brandon Banks celebrates a touchdown during a CFL game against the Toronto Argonauts, in Toronto, Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

Hamilton Tiger-Cats superstar Brandon Banks says he will retire from the CFL if the league’s upcoming season is cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a series of tweets Monday morning, Banks says he will “go play somewhere else” if a second consecutive season in the CFL is wiped out — saying, “It ain’t bout the money, it’s about playing football.”

His comments come just days after a source “familiar with the league at the executive level” told the Edmonton Sun that a season in 2021 may not be “plausible” due to coronavirus case numbers, new variants and the slow pace of vaccinations.

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The league’s Most Outstanding Player in 2019 signed a one-year contract with the Ticats just before the new year.

Commissioner Randy Ambrosie wrote a letter to fans last month, saying they “plan to play CFL football this year, and lots of it.”

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The 2020 season was scrapped after the CFL failed in its request to secure government funding or follow through on a proposed shortened season using a hub city format.

The upcoming season is scheduled to kick off June 10 when the Tiger-Cats are slated to visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

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