Finally, consequences in Edmonton—for head coach Kavis Reed, who was fined by the CFL

The 1-8 Edmonton Eskimos have received more attention for their comments this year than for their play, including head coach Kavis Reed's infamous "consequences" rant and general manager Ed Hervey throwing offensive lineman Simeon Rottier under the bus (but oddly enough, not cutting or trading him). That pattern continued Thursday with the CFL's announcement that Reed has been fined $2,500 for comments he made to officials in Monday's Labour Day Classic against Calgary, which the Eskimos lost 37-34. From the league's release:

It's interesting to see a head coach fined (and to see the amount released; with player fines, the amount is never included in the official release, but the coaches probably don't have as much bargaining power), and in this case, it would appear to be justified. Directly haranguing officials after games is pretty clearly out of bounds, and that's what Reed did following Monday's loss. No one knows exactly what he said, but we do have an idea what he was complaining about. From John MacKinnon of The Edmonton Journal:

It's understandable that Reed was upset after losing a close game, but directly going after the officials seems a bit much (and is definitely against league policy). Yes, pass interference is often called inconsistently in this league, but that tends to favour teams as much as hinder them; over the course of a season, it generally evens out. Bigger factors in the Eskimos' loss were their inability to block anyone, their offence deciding to take a nap for the first three quarters and their defence getting picked apart by two different Calgary quarterbacks. Unlike the officiating, those are factors you'd expect Reed to be able to influence. He might be better off focusing his emotions there than going after the officials. His wallet certainly would be.