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Carlos Thomas fined for shot to Mike Reilly’s head, but Reilly wants league-wide change
It isn't particularly unusual to see finesoverdangerous plays, but it is unusual to see a player publicly weighing in on discipline for other players. Saskatchewan DB Carlos Thomas was unsurprisingly fined by the CFL Wednesday for a hit to the head of Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly in Saturday's game, but it's Reilly's comments that are really notable; before Thomas' fine was handed down, he was calling for not just punishment for Thomas, but also league-wide action to crack down on hits to the head. Here's what Reilly told Chris O'Leary of The Edmonton Journal Tuesday about the hits he's taken this year and Thomas' shot in particular:
“I’m a pretty tall guy. It’s pretty hard to get up to that area of your head without trying to,” Reilly said. “I was honestly a little bit surprised by the hit, given the fact that there’s been so much media coverage of the head shots I’ve taken this year.” ...
“That incident, (Thomas) didn’t really seem to care. But whatever, like I say, in the course of the game, the refs can only throw the flags and give us the penalty for it and they did, they caught it, so I was happy with that.
“If the league decides to take any further action on it, that’s on them, that’s for them to decide. But I am certainly not excited about a guy targeting my head like that.”
It's understandable that Reilly's upset here; this is the fourth fine handed out this season for a headshot on him. He also suffered a concussion from a hit to the head in late September. Unlike many players in similar situations, though, Reilly isn't interested in just complaining about this specific instance or passing these hits off as part of the game. He told O'Leary he wants to see league-wide change, and he's hoping the CFLPA will support that this offseason:
“I think it’s something we’ve got to sit down and talk with our CFLPA about,” he said. “We’ve got to say, ‘Hey, you’ve got to protect us and if that’s protecting us from ourselves, meaning other players in the league, then that needs to happen.’
“They’re in a tough spot because they’re trying to protect everybody and, sometimes, to do that you have to punish other guys within your same union. It’s got to be a culture change. It’s got to be guys … you have to respect your fellow player in the league. Yeah, we play for different teams, but it just comes down to a respect level.
“If I’m running down the field and I see a guy with his back turned to me, I’m not going to dive and stick my helmet on the side of his knee and take him out of the game,” Reilly continued. “I just have too much respect for the other guy and the work that he’s put into his game to get to this level that I’m not going to just try to take him out like that.
“It’s got to be a total culture change. The accidental hits, they’re trying to change those, they’re trying to teach guys to tackle differently and all that stuff, but ultimately, it’s on us as players to eliminate the obvious attempts to injure guys.”
Those are notable sentiments from Reilly, but they're rare amongst football players. Despite the mounting evidence about the short- and long-term dangers of head trauma, there still is plenty of pushback from those who think existing safety legislation goes too far, so it's quite possible that Reilly's comments here won't lead to anything. It's going to be tough to convince the players' association (which, keep in mind, represents many more defensive players than quarterbacks) to push for a crackdown on these types of plays. Still, at least Reilly's getting his views out there and making it clear that not all players approve of the often-unnecessary head-to-head contact in football. We'll see if his comments lead to anything, or if they're quickly forgotten in the pursuit of more hitting.
