CFLPA complains about Eskimos’ general manager Ed Hervey’s criticism of Simeon Rottier

While Edmonton Eskimos' general manager Ed Hervey's tirade against his offensive line in general and guard Simeon Rottier in particular didn't accomplish anything on the field, with his team looking even worse than usual in protection during their 22-12 loss to Calgary Friday, it's attracted the notice of both the league and the players' association. TSN's Dave Naylor reported on Friday's SportsCentre that the CFL had already expressed displeasure with Hervey for seemingly violating part of the collective bargaining agreement that prevents club officials from publicly criticizing specific players, and he added that the CFLPA was preparing a response of their own. That response dropped Monday in a release from the players' association. Here's what it said:

While at first it seems somewhat over-the-top to limit what executives can say publicly, there's some logic here. After all, players and coaches both frequently are fined for criticizing league officials. (Edmonton head coach Kavis Reed received a $2,500 fine for doing that just last week.) Moreover, it's not like there's discipline any time a coach or general manager says a player needs to improve; this is the first time in a long while that this has come up. (It does occasionally happen that players, coaches or general managers blast players on other teams for perceived dirty plays, and that's sometimes led to discipline, but a general manager getting in trouble for going after his own player is incredibly unusual.) The difference in this situation is that most public criticism of specific players on their team by coaches or executives is done in what seems like a positive fashion, with them pointing out where players need to improve. If a coach or general manager's really upset about something, they're usually calling out a positional group (like, say, the offensive line) rather than one particular player.

Moreover, if a player isn't in a club's plans, the GM will usually release or trade him (as we saw with the B.C.-Winnipeg deal Sunday night of two players who didn't fit with their teams any more) and say nice things about them on their way out the door. Instead, Hervey decided to hang on to Rottier, but went incredibly over the top in his criticism of him, saying "It wouldn't bother me if he didn't play another down this year" and then incorrectly citing the ratio rules as reasons to hang on to him (it's not like Rottier's the only Canadian offensive lineman out there). A fine here would probably be justified, especially considering how quickly the league tends to take action on players' comments.

For Hervey, though, a fine may be the least of his worries. This situation demonstrated his ignorance of the CBA and the way things are done in the CFL, and he certainly didn't improve his team's performance by sowing dissent in the locker room and instituting all sorts of micromanaging changes on both offence and defence. When he was hired this past offseason, Hervey promised a return to "The Eskimo Way" and a policy of "not kicking dirt on anyone," and he said "We're no longer going to be perceived as a sideshow." Well, they're looking like a sideshow at the moment, and the "Ego Empire" Hervey criticized back then sure doesn't seem to have disappeared. There are some promising pieces in Edmonton, particularly quarterback Mike Reilly and linebacker J.C. Sherritt, but the man at the top isn't giving anyone great confidence in his ability to assemble them into a winning team. We'll see if he can learn from this and avoid the problems associated with public dirt-kicking in the future, or if the Eskimos are going to continue their infighting instead of coming together as a team.