FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 23, 2016

For Better Standards and Protection in Their Sport, Canadian Football League Players’ Association Makes the Case for Coverage of Their Members

MEDIA ADVISORY

(Stoney Creek, ON) “Professional football players are no different than every working Canadian; they work hard for their employer and deserve to be included in the standards and protections that apply to anyone injured on the job,” said Brian Ramsay, Executive Director of the CFL Players’ Association (CFLPA).  Ramsay’s comments came as the CFLPA submitted a detailed brief to a panel established by the Alberta government to review the province’s workers’ compensation policies and regulations.

“Most Canadians don’t realize that CFL players have very minimal coverage for accidents and injuries they sustain as part of their work as professional football players,” Ramsay noted.  “In some instances a CFL player injured during the season only has access to medical and rehabilitation coverage for a one-year period relating to the injury date.  There is no insurance scheme to cover those injuries past that one-year window, nor is there salary protection for a following season.  This means that a player injured in the last regular season game can be without a paycheque indefinitely.   That outcome means many injured players fall back on the public health care system, which leaves Canadian taxpayers with the bill for those injuries.  We don’t believe that’s fair to players or to taxpayers,” Ramsay stressed.

“We’re making the case to the Alberta Review Panel to get policy makers focused on workable solutions that acknowledge the responsibility that—our employers—have to their employees—our members,” Ramsay said.  “This is all about what’s fair and we’re confident that when policy makers understand the problem faced by our members, they will support our call for better standards and greater responsibility by CFL teams when it comes to player safety,” Ramsay concluded.

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Canadian Football League Players’ Association – Establishing fair and reasonable working conditions for ALL CFL Players since 1965.