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Laval Rouge et Or finally suspend quarterback, one year after charges in bar fight

Neate Sager

Better late than never / Mieux vaut tard que jamais. Last fall, there was controversy following the Laval Rouge et Or's latest Vanier Cup victory when it emerged there had been some "unusual delays and complications" with charges against quarterback Alex Skinner and two other players in connection with a bar fight being heard in court.

Now, nearly a year after the incident in question and eight months after the end of the 2013 season, the university football juggernaut has finally acted. Skinner will miss the first two Quebec conference regular-season games. Both are against the Rouge et Or's fellow Francophone programs, the Montreal Carabins and Sherbrooke Vert et Or, so they're not necessarily as a foregone a conclusion as the typical Laval game.

Skinner, an Ottawa native, took the controls of Laval's offence midway through last season.

It is fair to raise an eyebrow at why it will take more than 12 months for Skinner, the student-athlete, to face consequences for what he was involved in while in a public space. University football players in a program of Laval's scope are visible enough to be identified as football players, which diminishes the on-his-own-time argument. Fair or not, there's a higher standard.

The Quebec conference is shaping up to be more intriguing than in most years since Canadian Interuniversity Sport's age restrictions for football players are beginning to take effect. Several strong programs in the league had key players age out following last season.

Laval occasionally loses a regular-season game, but has always managed to keep home-field advantage for the playoffs during its current 11-year run of league titles. Starting the season without its starting quarterback could hurt the chances of continuing that streak. That's not the point. The point is there was a long delay in imposing consequences; why even bother at this point?

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.