Advertisement

Kent Austin apologizes for sideline bump, but will the CFL still punish him?

andrew bucholtz
Kent Austin apologizes for sideline bump, but will the CFL still punish him?

An unusual storyline from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' 35-27 win over the Toronto Argonauts Friday involved Ticats' head coach and general manager Kent Austin apparently putting his shoulder into former Hamilton and current Toronto receiver Dave Stala during a sideline clash. Immediately after the game, Austin said he didn't remember the incident, but on Sunday, he issued a statement apologizing for his actions. The CFL is still reportedly investigating Austin's actions, though, so punishment could be coming. Here's video of the incident in question:

It's notable that Stala does seem to start this with a bump on Ticats' returner Brandon Banks, which appears to be out of bounds. However, that's not an excuse for Austin to intervene physically, and he seems to do so in a pretty significant way, throwing his shoulder into Stala as he walks by. That's not a good look for Austin, the Tiger-Cats, or the league, and neither is his claim to not recall the incident when he was asked about it after the game:

“Me putting my shoulder into Dave, when was that?” Austin said after the game. “I don’t know. I’m up and down the sideline, my head’s in the game, I’m emotional… you’d have to show me that play.”

...Should the CFL determine that Austin acted intentionally, he could be facing supplementary discipline. Austin didn’t want to speculate on what the league might do.

“I don’t know. If they do, they do. We’ll have to take a look at it,” said Austin. “I don’t have any issue with Dave, I love Dave.”

Austin has long been known for his emotion on the sideline, and he's frequently been heated towards his own players, but physical intervention like this is still on another level, and a problematic one. Moreover, his initial lack of admission of his error doesn't look great; perhaps he really didn't remember it in the heat of the moment, but some may be skeptical of that. At least he did offer an apology Sunday, and recognized there that his actions weren't acceptable:

“After seeing the video of my sideline bump of Dave Stala during Friday’s game, I have spoken with Dave and apologized for my action. I have high regard for Dave as a player and as a person, and by no means was he a premeditated target.

Our organization holds our players and coaches to high standards of conduct. In this instance I fell short of those standards. I have apologized to our team and assured them that going forward my behavior will be consistent with those standards.

As a head coach in the Canadian Football League, we are held to high standards of conduct. I embrace those responsibilities and do not condone this sort of behavior. I take full responsibility for my actions. My sincere apologies go out to everyone affiliated with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, our fans, and the fans of the league.”

Still, it wouldn't be surprising to see the CFL fine Austin here, and that's probably deserved. Whether his actions were intentional or not, coaches and general managers shouldn't be making physical contact with opposing players. (One similar situation in the NFL in 2013 saw Pittsburgh Steelers' coach Mike Tomlin fined $100,000 for trying to trip Jacoby Jones; that was a more severe and obvious incident, one that involved a live play, and Tomlin makes way more than Austin, but it's been well-established that coaches can't touch opposing players.) Austin's act here didn't seem to do a lot of actual damage, and his apology is progress, but the league's been more than willing to step in and issue fines when players, coaches and executives have made mistakes that hurt the CFL's image. They should probably do so in this case as well.