SO SAD: Winnipeg Bomber head coach Michael O’Shea announced his departure just now…
The league said that it will no longer require clubs to utilize microchips in footballs,
a day after Sergio Castillo of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and a handful of his colleagues went public with their claims that the technology is ruining the kicking game.
“The league has tested these footballs using robotic technology and current CFL players,” commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in a statement on Friday afternoon. “We are taking this step out of respect for kickers who do not yet feel comfortable using them, even though there is no concrete evidence to suggest their use impacts performance in any way.” Among them was Castillo, who informed reporters following Winnipeg’s 27–12 defeat to Montreal that kickers are speculating as to what the microchip balls will do when in the air.
Castillo remarked, “I have no idea where to aim. I genuinely pray the Rosary every time I’m outside. Each and every guy is against this. We’re all opposed to it.1. It has an impact on the team. It destroys momentum. And two, this might cost us our jobs. Before the evening was over, more kickers from the league had their say.
Every CFL kicker voted against using chipped footballs in the kicking game, and no other professional league does either,” Ottawa placekicker Lewis Ward wrote on X. “It is very sad for the league to disregard this issue and has a negative impact on the integrity of the game.”
