Excerpt from Eric Tillman statement

Here is an excerpt of an apology by Saskatchewan Roughriders general manager Eric Tillman, who pleaded guilty Monday to sexually assaulting a teenage girl in Regina:

"I would like to first and foremost apologize to [the teen]. She was wonderful to our children. Our children adored her. She had a great relationship with my wife and I think it's been documented throughout all this we treated her with absolute respect the year that she babysat for us.

"This would not have happened in a 100 million years had I not put myself in a position to be on medication. Nevertheless, my heart goes out to her and my apology is profound.

"To her mom and dad … I know this is your daughter. I have a little girl. I know that women and daughters are precious and my heart goes out to you. I thank them for extending me grace by accepting my apologies.

"To my wife who has been amazing through all this, who didn't deserve this public humiliation, you are tremendous with our children, who I love dearly, and who has been subjected to so many false rumours and so much ridicule. There are no words.

"To my mom and dad who raised us with a moral compass, who always taught us the value of other people, who always taught us to treat other people with dignity. And I've tried to honour them by living my life this way, the way that I have. It pains me beyond words that 10 or 15 seconds of my life could impact them so significantly and I am so profoundly sorry.

"To Jim Hopson, who hired me, to Rob Pletch and the board of directors, Kenny Miller, the coaches and players, people that I work with and share my love for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, I apologize.

"And last but not least, to the good people of this province. One of the things I've said many times about moving here is that the wonderful thing about raising children here is the sense of pride, the sense of family, the fact that people care about things that matter here.

"I know people here care about not only their good name, but the good name of this province and I'm profoundly sorry that I brought embarrassment to not only the organization and to my family, but to the people throughout this province.

"As [lawyer] Aaron [Fox] said several times, this has been incredibly painful for me. That said, it should be noted I should be last on that list.

"I take full responsibility for my actions, and my emotion today is for other people that I know have been impacted. It's been painful for them and while there are no adequate words, I apologize, your honour. It was very wrong."