The Toronto Argonauts have come down on receiver Arland Bruce III for accusing CFL officials of being racist and taking bribes following the club's loss to Montreal on Sunday in the East Division final.
The Argos issued a statement Monday evening, stating they had fined Bruce an unspecified amount for his comments and emphasizing that the opinions expressed by Bruce are not shared by the CFL club.
The move came hours after Bruce met reporters and backtracked slightly from his original statements but still didn't apologize for making the accusations.
``If you go back three weeks, we haven't been getting the calls we should've got and that's just a frustrating thing,'' Bruce said. ``There might have been some things said out of frustration but it is what it is. There were some unbalanced calls for us.
``I didn't say referees are racist or this league is racist. I just said it's a question, is that possible for that to happen?''
But Bruce, a CFL all-star this season after finishing second in receiving with 77 catches for 1,370 yards and 11 touchdowns, was far more accusatory when he sounded off in Montreal following Toronto's loss.
``I don't think the referees like Pinball,'' Bruce told reporters, referring to Argos head coach Mike (Pinball) Clemons, who is black. ``I think they are racists.
``How come there are no black referees in the CFL. They're racists.''
Bruce didn't stop there. He then accused the Alouettes of actually paying the officials off for Sunday's game.
``How much did (Montreal's) coach pay the refs, that's what I want to know?'' Bruce said. ``Good luck to them in the Grey Cup.
``I hope they pay them off there, too. Make another $5,000.''
On Monday, Bruce refused to play the race card.
``I haven't had any type of racism issues since I've been in Canada,'' he said. ``I love Canada, I love Toronto.
``But it made me think out of frustration. I mean, what's the deal? We get a penalty on a catch and the referee tells him (Clemons) to pick it (challenge flag) up because we're not going to get it. Those things make you wonder why you'd say that to a coach challenging something?
``The racial issue, I don't think this league is anything like that but it makes you wonder why aren't there any African-American referees in this league? Have any tried out? Are they eligible, just things like that. But I know this league isn't a racial league. It really has made a pathway for me and a lot of other people who are African-American.''
George Black, the CFL's director of officials, declined comment about Bruce's remarks. However, the league was to speak to both Clemons and Bruce later Monday before deciding what punishment to hand down.
``The CFL firmly rejects the notion that racism or illegal activity has any presence within our game,'' the league said in a statement. ``The league is investigating the remarks and will determine appropriate action at the conclusion of such investigation.
``Until such time, the league will not be offering further comments.''
Clemons also refused comment about Bruce's remarks, but said he spoke to Black last week about the Argos' players feeling that they were not receiving a fair shake from league officials.
``I let him know our situation had gone past what is normal, that our guys were actually cutting jokes and laughing about it,'' Clemons said. ``They weren't laughing because they thought it was funny, they just felt like the calls were not going to go in our favour, that we were not only going to have to play the opposing team but we're going to have to play the referees, too.
``He (Black) was cordial. He tried to explain some specific situations in that he assured me that the guys were going to do a good job for us this week.''
Bruce said he'd welcome an opportunity to speak with Black in person.
``I wish I could talk to Mr. Black, one on one at the table,'' he said. ``I know a lot of other coaches and players would like to, too.
``If you look at the referees the times that we've played, be it Montreal or other teams, it has been unbalanced officiating on our part.''
