Bo knows football. But does Bo Levi-Mitchell know the rules? There is no question that Bo Levi Mitchell has been the best quarterback by the numbers over the past few CFL seasons. He’s a very talented young man. If he has a long CFL career and continues his assault on the stats sheets, like he’s done since taking the starter’s job with the Calgary Stampeders, he’ll eventually hold most of the league’s passing records.
Bo Levi Mitchell Accuses Roughriders of Cheating with Roster Rules; CFL to Investigate
On a quiet Tuesday in the CFL comes this tweet, from Mitchell’s account, accusing a fellow CFL team of cheating essentially with salary cap and roster rules.
https://twitter.com/bolevimitchell/status/763114676557316097
The Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders are currently in the middle of a home-and-home series, in which the Stamps won the first game. The second game is this coming Saturday. Mitchell’s accusation that his west division foes are stashing players on but mostly off registered lists adds some real heat to the rivalry.
Rider fans, in typical form, raced to defend their football team, and reactions from around the league poured in…
@CFL @sskroughriders This deserves a fine does it not?…
— The Dude (@TheSKDude) August 9, 2016
Mitchell obliged The Dude. Several times in fact, including the following…
https://twitter.com/bolevimitchell/status/763174907962195968
So are you accusing the #Riders of cheating?
— The Dude (@TheSKDude) August 10, 2016
https://twitter.com/bolevimitchell/status/763175654556704768
https://twitter.com/BoLeviMitchell/status/763183319454519296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Was Mitchell Correct?
The CFL’s response is what’s important now. TSN’s Dave Naylor shed light on where they currently stand:
CFL response to @BoLeviMitchell accusations of @sskroughriders roster cheating: "We're aware of it and we're looking into it."
— Dave Naylor (@TSNDaveNaylor) August 10, 2016
For his part, Chris Jones has denied all accusations.
Where do we go from here
If Mitchell is wrong then put him in a pile with all the other people that don’t know the difference between cheating and using loopholes to gain a competitive advantage within the rules. If he’s wrong then he’ll be served one of the biggest pots of crow soup you’ve ever seen by the nation of Rider fans. He might even deserve the fine that the Dude requested.
However, if he’s right, the Riders should be punished accordingly. If he’s right he should be called “brave” and Rider fans should thank him for blowing up a bad situation before it gets worse. That’s easy to say because no one wants to win if cheating is what it takes to get you there. With the Riders already being fined once for a different rules violation (not having enough National players to meet the ratio on the field); if this second accusation is proven, it will be really bad for Chris Jones and the Riders front office.
So; does Bo know the rules? We will know soon!
