Murphy, Robertson defend tweets on Off The Record

Despite the CFL's efforts to crack down, poor tackling form and the head-first hits it encourages continue to be a league-wide issue. That was evident this weekend, as Friday's game between the Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers saw a dangerous fourth-quarter play from Winnipeg defensive back Johnny Sears. Sears, wearing #0, launched himself head-first at Toronto quarterback Steven Jyles and made contact with Jyles' helmet. The hit knocked Jyles out and resulted in his removal from the game; it also led to a fight between Sears and Toronto's Jason Pottinger, resulting in the ejections of both. It also created plenty of angry post-game reaction, including comments from Jyles and Pottinger.

The Sears hit sparked plenty of reaction from Argonauts' players who weren't on the field as well, including injured offensive linemen Rob Murphy and Taylor Robertson. Murphy tweeted "#0 is lucky I'm not in the Province of Manitoba tonight…They would need the Jaws of Life to pry me off of him… I have a good memory… #CYaNextYear0," while Robertson added "I don't know who the hell this #0 guy is but I hope to hell he's in the league next year.. I'll take the ejection I don't care." Those comments ticked off some who saw them as threats, so Murphy and Robertson went on TSN's Off The Record with Michael Landsberg Monday (you can watch their segment here) to explain themselves, and they had some interesting things to say.

To start with, Landsberg asked Murphy (seen at top) if he thought his tweet crossed a line, and Murphy said it didn't, claiming he was referring to legal on-field retribution.

"No, 100 per cent not," Murphy said. "I'm an offensive lineman, Taylor is too. That's something, if we were on the field, that stuff gets handled. It's not an eye for an eye, but certainly there's a way you can go about it."

Murphy said he's changed from his old habits, which often saw him ejected. He prefers to work within the rules these days.

"I'm essentially saying if I were in that game, there would have been something I would have done," he said. "I have a good memory, so that means, 'Next time.' Does it mean I'm going to go out and physically hurt him? No. There's ways of remedying the situations within the lines. I'm one of those guys that used to get kicked out of games and all that, I haven't done that in two years. There are ways to get around that."

He said his tweet would have been a real threat three years ago, though.

"I probably would have done what I said, what I tweeted," he said. "It was one of those things with the old Rob Murphy."

Murphy said he's focused on helping his team, not achieving individual outside-the-lines vengeance.

"It was one of those things with buying in to what our head coach said, 'The team is bigger than you,' and that's something I realized two years ago," he said.

Robertson (seen at right) seconded Murphy's sentiments, saying he didn't mean to imply he'd do anything illegal if he played against Sears.

"Same thing Murph said; things get handled," he said. "I'm not saying I'd get ejected for anything, but if that so happens, I'm not a referee. I don't make calls. I've been ejected before for things that are not even worth the ejection and I've been apologized to by the league on behalf of that. There's ways to handle things on the field within the rules."

Murphy said he's been fined four times for Twitter statements, which he chalks up to the language he sometimes uses and his tendency to respond when fans insult him personally.

"They're not real fond of the way I speak," he said. "Fans chirp me all the time. Sometimes, if I feel like it's warranted, I'll give it back."

He said he's fine with taking criticism and trash talk, but he doesn't like when it becomes personal.

"It does bother me," he said. "You're doing this for fans, and to bring attention to the league. When you have some jackass tweet, you're supposed to sit there? If it's funny, I'll retweet it; that's the way I go. But there's times where they talk about family and personal stuff and you're handcuffed."

Robertson agreed, saying the league's too focused on the negatives and often ignores all the positive interactions players have with fans on Twitter.

"You get in trouble for one tweet with one certain fan, but all the times fans tweet us with tons of support," he said. "That gets overlooked."

Robertson said it's the league's decision whether to suspend Sears or not for that hit, one they'll be making Tuesday.

"That's the CFL's call," he said. "That's not my call."

He said if it was him making the call, though, Sears would be missing a game or two.

"I believe it should be a suspension," he said. "You have to draw the line somewhere."

Murphy said Sears needs some discipline for the hit, whether it's a fine or a suspension, but the on-field officials need to step up their enforcement of the rules as well.

"He definitely should be dinged," Murphy said. "At the very least, call a penalty because he's spearing."

Robertson made one further excellent point about head-first tackles and how they go against the progress being made on the concussion front, as they endanger both the tackler and the player being hit.

"Something's got to be done," he said. "People's health are being put at risk. The funny thing is it's not just Jyles; [Sears] is putting himself at risk by leading with his head."

With all the conversation about negative tweets, it's worth noting Robertson made that exact point on Twitter earlier this weekend.

"It's not only stupid but extremely dangerous for both parties involved," he wrote. "[It] makes no sense."

Robertson said there needs to be a change in the league's culture, not just punishment for one offender.

"Is a suspension going to solve the problem? No."

I can see how the league might have an issue with what Murphy and Robertson tweeted, but clarifying their comments in a public forum this way certainly helps their case. This is a small league, and players do tend to develop rivalries with each other; vowing to do something against a particular player isn't exactly unusual (see the trash talk directed at Jerome Messam before the B.C. - Edmonton clash Saturday). Murphy and Robertson may have been a bit better off with more diplomatic wording that couldn't be interpreted as an outside-the-lines threat, but Twitter's an emotional medium at times, and that's one of its strengths. In fact, that kind of expression is one of the CFL's strengths in general; the league doesn't clamp down on its players as much as the southern No Fun League, and its players in turn tend to be more open to the media and fans, saying what they really think instead of offering boilerplate sports jargon. That's a good thing, and one that shouldn't be lost.

In any case, regardless of if Robertson and Murphy are fined, the real issue here is players leading with their heads on tackles. That's not an easy habit to change, as many are taught that way throughout youth and college football, but it's one that does need to change; the more we learn about the long-term impacts of head blows, the scarier it gets. Really, this whole thing isn't TwitterGate, but HeadshotGate. That needs to be the CFL's focus in addressing the situation, as stopping hits that can severely damage players' careers and post-career lives is far more important than worrying about tweets.