Shivers defends legacy with Roughriders

A day after he was fired as general manager of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Roy Shivers said he's proud of his legacy with the CFL team.

In an interview with CBC News, he also spoke about being "very upset" about the way a small city like Regina can put a largely black team like the Riders under the spotlight.

After serving as GM for the past seven years, Shivers was released from his contract Monday. Riders president Jim Hopson said the organization appreciated his contributions, but wanted to start planning for the future.

The team's record under Shivers, the first black general manager in professional football history, was 52 wins, 64 losses and one tie. It had a big win against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on the weekend but Hopson said the decision had already been made.

Although the team made it to the playoffs the last four years, it never advanced tothe Grey Cup under Shivers's direction.

Promise fulfilled

Shivers said he promised fans when he arrived that the team and the organization as a whole would be in better shape when he left. He said Tuesday he had accomplished that.

"You know, when we came here, this team was at the depths. They were just about out of business. No money, nothing. We've put more fans in the seats now. They've made more money than they ever made before. They've got a bigger following than they've ever had before. They've sold more paraphernalia than they've ever sold before. That's my legacy. It's better now than when I came here."

Shivers also said he's helped put together a team that's in contention every year.

"That's the name of the game, to be in contention and make the playoffs," he said. "And now you get to the grand prize of going to the Grey Cup."

Negative publicity

Shivers also talked about the negative publicity the team suffered because of players who were charged with criminal offences during his seven years as GM.

The most serious case concerned former player Trevis Smith, who was charged with aggravated sexual assault after allegedly having sex with women without disclosing his HIV-positive status.

But some of the incidents that made headlines wouldn't have made a blip in larger centres like Toronto or B.C., he said.

"We're in a fishbowl here and the majority of our players, having been of a certain ethnic persuasion, has a lot to do with it," Shivers said.

"We're so visible and every time a black person does something in this town, everybody thinks it's a football player," he said. "This upsets me very much. Myself and Danny [Barrett, the Riders coach] being of the same persuasion… think it's a bunch of crap."

Shivers said he was tired of the rumours about his employment status and said in some ways, being released from his contract is a relief.

He's now in the process of moving to Las Vegas, where he says he'll take it easy for a while.