Argo QB, Chad Kelly sited in harassment/wrongful dismissal charges

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

You may be required to get a court order or at least serve notice on the "stalker" before it can become a criminal matter.  But I do agree that her description in the article did sound stalker-ish.  But there's no indication she went to the police.

What I find disconcerting is that when she went to her boss(es) they weren't able to put a stop to it.  It's bad enough DB Kelly was behaving very poorly and didn't stop, it's another when his bosses didn't/couldn't reign him in.  It's actually mind boggling.

Like: "Hey Kelly you need to back off and stay away from her."  "Nah, I'm going to publicly berate her on a bus."

Very bizarre.

She made the mistake of going to John Murphy instead of Pinball or Dinwiddie with her concerns, frankly anyone else other than Murphy would have handled this better.

[TecnoGenius]

She made the mistake of going to John Murphy instead of Pinball or Dinwiddie with her concerns, frankly anyone else other than Murphy would have handled this better.

Ya, that's very odd in and of itself.  Was Murphy her direct supervisor?  If I was her I'd have gone straight to Pinball.  He wouldn't stand for those kind of optics.

[blue_gold_84]

But he is right. We need to hear the rest of the story.

Absolutely. But what's been alleged so far doesn't paint a flattering picture for a QB with a tainted past and the organization who currently employs him, including Murphy who also has a tainted past.

It's been nearly a week since this came to light and there hasn't so much as a whisper from MLSE or the Argonauts. It's a pretty bad look for a team that struggles with its off-field imaging as it is.

[ModAdmin]

Absolutely. But what's been alleged so far doesn't paint a flattering picture for a QB with a tainted past and the organization who currently employs him, including Murphy who also has a tainted past.

It's been nearly a week since this came to light and there hasn't so much as a whisper from MLSE or the Argonauts. It's a pretty bad look for a team that struggles with its off-field imaging as it is.

Agree it looks very bad for Kelly and the Argo organization. They know exactly what happened and are keeping quiet which is a poor strategy.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Agree it looks very bad for Kelly and the Argo organization. They know exactly what happened and are keeping quiet which is a poor strategy.

On the other hand, they're handling this case appropriately by not engaging the media and dealing with it within the legal system.  After the matter is resolved, they'll release a conclusion.

[ModAdmin]

On the other hand, they're handling this case appropriately by not engaging the media and dealing with it within the legal system.  After the matter is resolved, they'll release a conclusion.

I understand that too.  But the optics look terrible when know exactly what transpired and they say nothing.

[blue_gold_84]

On the other hand, they're handling this case appropriately by not engaging the media and dealing with it within the legal system.  After the matter is resolved, they'll release a conclusion.

Even a simple press release along the lines of "MLSE and the Argonauts take this matter seriously and will cooperate with investigators to ensure justice is upheld" or what have you could go a long way in reassuring the public and showing they care.

I don't know that complete radio silence in light of such serious allegations comes across as appropriate.

[Waffler]

Ya, that's very odd in and of itself.  Was Murphy her direct supervisor?  If I was her I'd have gone straight to Pinball.  He wouldn't stand for those kind of optics.

I am not sure what Pinball does there anymore. It doesn't seem a Pinball team, more like a Murphy team, and it was reported by Jeff Hamilton (in by far the best article I have seen about this subject) that Murphy is the defacto GM there.

"Murphy has the reputation of being a strong talent evaluator but is hardly adored by the players. He's also the de facto GM, but because of his embarrassing actions of the past, it's Mike "Pinball" Clemons who holds the official title."

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

I understand that too.  But the optics look terrible when know exactly what transpired and they say nothing.

We only know what the media told us, certainly doesn't mean it's factual.

[blue_gold_84]

We only know what the media told us, certainly doesn't mean it's factual.

You should give Rick Westhead more credit; he's highly respected for his journalism.

Don't spin this into some "media bad" nonsense.

[theaardvark]

The concerning paragraphs of the article are:

"The coach alleges that the Argos condoned Kelly's harassment and a toxic work environment and that the team breached the CFL violence against women policy by not submitting a critical incident report to the league's head office.

"[The plaintiff] reported the harassment she was experiencing from Chad to her superiors," the coach's lawsuit says. "[The] Argonauts failed to address [her] legitimate concerns and then terminated her employment."

The fact she says they "condoned" his actions really puts the onus on the Argos to prove otherwise, and based on the lack of defence so far, you have to wonder if they didn't...

[ModAdmin]

We only know what the media told us, certainly doesn't mean it's factual.

Yes, the media put something out there on this alleged issue and the team/league need to deal with a response.

[Blueforlife]

Bad look on the league and Argos for going radio silent.  Step up Pinball.

[TBURGESS]

We only know one side of the story. We don't have any corroboration that says it's true or that it's false, yet most who have read the one sided story have already made up their minds that the plaintiff is in the right, which may or may not be true. 

I suspect that the Argos legal team has instructed them to shut up and to not try this case in the press. There is no way for them to come out looking good, especially as most folks have already made up their minds about it. 

[VictorRomano]

https://www.cfl.ca/2024/02/28/cfl-issues-statement-regarding-the-toronto-argonauts-and-chad-kelly/