Due to misunderstandings, the Hamilton Tigers Cats captain has been suspended because of…
Global punter Bailey Flint has been suspended by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, per head coach Orlondo Steinauer, who stated that Flint “had to attend something back at home.”
Hamilton selected the Melbourne, Australia, native in the first round of the 2022 CFL Global Draft. This season, he has played in eight games and punted 52 times for a net average of 36.8 yards, enough for sixth place in the league. This year, he has only released one single.
On Sunday, Hamilton sent punter Kaare Vedvik to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in exchange for quarterback Antonio Pipkin. The Norwegian specialist has punted 135 times in 22 career CFL games, averaging 44.8 yards per attempt.
On Thursday, August 17, the Ticats (3-5) will play home to the Edmonton Elks (0-9), with a start planned for 7:30 p.m. EDT.
Chris Edwards, a defensive back with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and a veteran of CFL sanctions, has been suspended for three games after starting a brawl in the waning moments of Saturday’s Eastern semifinal in Montreal.
Edwards was suspended, according to the league, “for striking opponents and for his part in inciting a non-football altercation.”
Two Alouettes and five additional Ticats were penalized for going beyond the bench area and “engaging opposing players in a non-football altercation.”
At Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, with 43 seconds left, the Als were ahead 27–12 when it happened. Edwards wrestled with wide receiver Jake Harty, who was trying to block him, as he rushed the passer.
The two engaged in a backfield brawl as the play came to a close on the opposing side of the offensive line, with Edwards ultimately shoving Harty to the ground and landing a punch. That infuriated the play, and a wave of Ticats poured from the bench.
Omar Bayless, a receiver for Hamilton, defensive back Carthell Flowers-Lloyd, quarterback Kai Locksley, defensive linemen Mason Bennett and Mohamed Diallo, wide receiver Régis Cibasu of Montreal, and running back Jeshrun Antwi were among the players punished.
The fine amounts were kept a secret by the league.
On the pitch, it took some time to sort out the sanctions; oddly, the PA system played John Lennon’s “Imagine” while the penalties were worked out.
Antwi, Bennett, Bayless, and Edwards were all removed from the game.
With the East final of the Montreal Canadiens taking place in Toronto on Saturday, head coach Jason Maas of the Alouettes will be relieved that his players avoided suspension.
The 217-pound, six-foot-two Edwards has a history of offenses.
After pretending to shake hands amicably with Montreal receiver Austin Mack after the Tiger-Cats’ 38-12 loss to the Alouettes, he shoved Mack with both hands in June, earning the maximum sanction allowed by the league. The game was done, but Edwards was still given a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Although the precise amount of the punishment was not made public, the CFL’s maximum sanction is equal to half of a player’s game check.
Edwards, who was then a member of the Toronto Argonauts, received a six-game suspension in December 2021 for his involvement in a brawl with a spectator after Hamilton defeated the Argos 27-19 at BMO Field in the East Division final.
Several Argos players and staff got into a fight with spectators as they were leaving the field following the game. An extensively shared video of the altercation on social media appeared to show Edwards pushing a Ticats fan.
John Murphy, the former vice president of player personnel for the Argonauts, who was also present during the 2021 incident, was let go by the organization. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson of the Arizona Cardinals was also penalized by the NFL for “an inappropriate on-field incident with a cameraperson.”
In his sixth season in the league, the 30-year-old Edwards—a native of Detroit who attended the University of Idaho—played for Edmonton and British Columbia before moving to Toronto and Hamilton.
