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Pat Watkins fined for homophobic slur, but Stampeders' response shows CFL could do more
Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell made headlines on the field last Saturday, rushing for two touchdowns and throwing for 216 yards and two more touchdowns in the Stampeders' 41-34 win over Edmonton, but he perhaps showed even more leadership off the field afterwards in response to a homophobic slur directed his way by Eskimos' defensive back Pat Watkins (which was picked up by the TSN broadcast). Mitchell and teammate Jon Cornish took strong stances on Watkins' comment, saying that the f-word he used should be explicitly banned and penalized on the field by the league the way other derogatory terms have been. Sadly, though, the CFL's own response was a little milder, merely including Watkins in its list of fines Friday and not even really mentioning what he did, citing him for just "offensive and inappropriate comments." That's a missed opportunity to take a hard stance against homophobia and show it's not acceptable in this league.
What Mitchell and Cornish said afterwards was powerful, and it should have paved the way for further action from the CFL. Here are Mitchell's comments from earlier this week, via Scott Mitchell (no relation) of The Calgary Sun:
Mitchell, who is heterosexual, gave a brief statement about the Watkins incident after Tuesday’s chilly practice but would not field questions on the topic.
“I appreciate Pat Watkins apologizing and everything,” Mitchell said. “I know the comment was directed towards me and not towards the people it does offend.
“Still, to be clear though, with all the microphones today, I don’t think there’s any place for the comments, whether it’s homosexual, anti-Semitic or racist, in the game, out of the game, in society, period …”
Cornish has spoken out on LGBT issues before, and they hit close to home for him; his mother is married to another woman, and he's been very supportive of her. He agreed to become a league ambassador for You Can Play and its acceptance-encouraging partnership with the CFL this year. It was positive to see him really embrace that mantle in the comments he made to Mitchell Tuesday:
Cornish says the other ‘F’-word needs to be banished.
“It’s nice to have things like this captured on video,” Cornish said. “Because people say things when they don’t think people are paying attention, but it’s nice to have them held accountable for the things that they say.
“Especially this specific slur. I think the league has outlawed the ‘N’-word from being said in games. But this word was not outlawed. I think this word should be outlawed, 100%.
“I hope this might get the ball rolling in that direction.”
From this corner, Cornish is absolutely right, and homophobia is something the CFL needs to take a hard stance against. The league, its teams and its players have done plenty of positive things on that front, including officially partnering with You Can Play in June, speaking out in favour of acceptance, working at YCP forums and marching in pride parades. However, the CFL's also seen players cause severe trouble for it on the homophobia front, with the likes of Arland Bruce III, Bryant Turner and Maurice Price all getting fined for homophobic comments this year. (Bruce was later cut as well.)
More leadership from the CFL office to reinforce that homophobic comments are completely impermissible, on or off the field, would be positive, and banning "the other f-word" in all circumstances would be a great start. If the league follows suit with what they've done with their ban of the n-word, these slurs would be met with a 15-yard penalty on the field in addition to the fine later, and that would really encourage teams to make their players behave. The fine for Watkins is positive, as is the apology he made before he was officially fined, but the league could and should do more to stamp out homophobia and show that the CFL is a place where everyone can play.