CFL stories don’t get much attention in Toronto. So even though the Toronto Argonauts had a bad-news announcement Tuesday when they fired general manager Jim Barker, give that team a huge raspberry for taking attention away from quarterback Henry Burris’ retirement.
Burris has been one of the league’s best players and best people since bringing his strong arm and huge smile to Canada in the late 1990s.
Despite an injured leg, Burris had a spectacular Grey Cup performance in Toronto two months ago, when he led the Ottawa Redblacks to victory over the favoured Calgary Stampeders. He has since pondered retirement and word surfaced Monday he would make an announcement one day later.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders also had some conflicting news, with their announcement Monday they were signing quarterback Kevin Glenn. To the Riders’ credit, they made the announcement immediately and left the stage to Burris.
The Argonauts weren’t so classy. They should have decided Barker’s fate months ago and let Burris have his moment.