Here’s something you don’t see very often. Thankfully.
After the December 5 East Division final between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, which Toronto lost 27-19, an altercation happened between Argos players and Hamilton fans who were present at Toronto’s stadium.
During the fracas, Argonauts vice president of player personnel John Murphy was seen slapping a fan and using a homophobic slur. The CFL has suspended Murphy indefinitely.
The league continues to investigate the situation for further discipline.
In a separate incident, Toronto quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson (former of the NFL) scuffled with a cameraman.
“I think tempers were high on a lot of ends,” Bethel-Thompson said, via Sportsnet.ca. “I know, the cameraman was just trying to do his job. I felt like he was too close in a vindictive way, but there was zero excuse for me to touch the camera in any form or fashion.”
Tempers were high in part because Toronto led 12-0 at halftime before blowing it.
The NFL has avoided such incidents over the years, which is a testament to the level of security at games. The CFL situation is a reminder to the American pro football league that there must be a high degree of vigilance at every game.