ANOTHER ISSUE IN WINNIPEG....WILL IT EVER END

David Naylor
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Wednesday, Sep. 16, 2009 01:26AM EDT

The CFL is reconsidering whether it should have allowed the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to place veteran linebacker Barrin Simpson on the nine-game injured list against his will.

The Bombers put Simpson on the nine-game list last Sunday, effectively ending his season and ensuring the remainder of his 2009 salary doesn’t count against the league’s $4.2-million cap.
But when other CFL teams claimed they had been prevented in the past from putting players on the nine-game list without getting their approval, the league decided to take another look.
“The bylaw, its interpretation and application are under review,” CFL spokesperson Matt Maychak said yesterday.

While the league was still finalizing its decision late yesterday, speculation around the league is the Bombers will be forced to drop Simpson from the nine-game list, keeping consistent with previous application of the rule.

The most obvious example of the league applying a different standard for the nine-game rule occurred a year ago.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders tried to place receivers D.J. Flick and Matt Dominguez on the nine-game list last fall, but the players refused. As a result, Saskatchewan was forced to apply their salaries towards its salary cap number, even though they never played another game.
After the season, the Riders were assessed an $80,000 dollar-for-dollar fine for exceeding the salary cap – roughly $50,000 of which was due to Dominguez and Flick refusing to go on the nine-game list.

Saskatchewan and other teams around the league want to know why the rule was applied differently to the Bombers in the case of Simpson, who played the first eight games of the 2009 season with a turf-tie injury before sitting out last Sunday’s 55-10 loss to Saskatchewan.

“Last year, we didn’t have any issue because the rule was applied consistently across the league,” Roughriders president Jim Hopson said. “If it changes, then we would ask for a review of our situation [from last year]. But I’ll wait to see what the league has to say when it finishes this review.”

If the Blue Bombers are forced to drop Simpson from the nine-game injured list, it would force them to make a decision on the 31-year-old veteran, who entered last week second in the CFL in tackles. Winnipeg’s options could include trading Simpson or asking him to step back into the lineup when he feels ready.

Simpson made a public request for a trade last Friday, after the team said it wanted to reduce his playing time. Two days later, the Bombers put him on the nine-game injured list, which he objected to, saying he does not have a season-ending injury and the move would make it near impossible for him to be traded.

As a six-year veteran, Simpson’s salary is guaranteed through the end of the season, meaning there is little chance the Bombers would release him to potentially play for another team.