Riders Atlantic bound, but will not escape Marino story

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have established themselves as a good team early in this 2022 campaign.

A victory over Ottawa last Friday, tainted or not, improved the team's record to 4-1.

There is plenty to be encouraged about. Even with an injury plagued lineup the team has showed signs of being a contender.

But to be honest, who have they played?

Four eastern teams and the Elks.

The east has a cumulative total of two wins out of 15 games. One of those wins came against the Riders.

The Edmonton Elks, working under Chris Jones's "tear it down, build it back up" philosophy, will be a work in progress for quite some time.

The real power lies with the rest of the west.

There is little doubt, even at this early juncture, that the crossover format will be used come playoff time.

I'm calling it. The Riders finish fourth in the west. They cross over to the east for the playoffs, come back home as the visitors in their own Grey Cup game, and finally pay the price for building a crappy visitors locker room in the new stadium.

But we're getting way ahead of ourselves. We're not ever close to Labour day yet.

Marino incident a hit to Riders' reputation

The point is the Riders are a good team, but their reputation as a great organization took a big hit this week.

Not one team, aside from maybe the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, has not been jealous of the Riders' marketing success over the last decade and a half.

So it should come as no surprise that everybody who loves to hate the Riders has piled on to take their shots at a team that finally looks bad in the public eye.

Trevor Harris and Zach Collaros, to name just a couple, felt the antics at Mosaic Stadium last Friday were an embarrassment for the league.

It's all because of Garrett Marino, a hulking defensive lineman who has played on the surly side since he came to the Riders in 2021.

He has been described as a player who plays on the edge, but last Friday he jumped off.

He has built a collection of unnecessary roughness flags during his time here, so he was already known to the league's disciplinary office.

The CFL sentenced Marino to a four-game suspension this week, calling it the most severe discipline for in-game behaviour in league history.

The suspension was broken down into a few different parts, but it all stemmed from what the league described as a reckless tackle on Ottawa quarterback Jeremiah Masoli.

He wrapped his massive arms around Masoli's ankles, put him on the ground and gave his legs a power twist to make sure he stayed down.

Was it the worst tackle I've ever seen? Not even close. Ask Riders' quarterback Cody Fajardo about the Antonio Simmons tackle a week earlier, or how his knee brace is targeted when he's under a pile.

"If you can take out the other team's quarterback it's worth the 15 yards," said Fajardo.

Where the Marino incident got disgusting was the celebration.

While Masoli lay on the turf unable to get up, Marino flexed his muscles and pounded his chest.

Not cool, celebrating over the player whose season you just destroyed.

WATCH | Roughriders Garrett Marino suspended after injuring Redblacks QB Jeremiah Masoli: 

Roughriders Garrett Marino suspended after injuring Redblacks QB Jeremiah Masoli

2 years ago

Duration 3:17

Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive lineman Garrett Marino was issued a two-game suspension, for his low hit that injured Ottawa Redblacks quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, in Saskatchewan's 28-13 win on Friday night.

Marino left the field, ejected, proudly raising his helmet like a Roman general who just sacked a helpless village.

For that, plus another reckless tackle on the play before, Marino got three games.

He also got another game added on for "verbal comments Marino made about Masoli's heritage during the game."

Masoli, meanwhile, is out for up to three months and not too happy about it.

He took to Twitter Tuesday night to air his displeasure about the man who sidelined him and the organization that employs him.

Masoli described Craig Dickenson's excuses as uninformed and Marino as a player who can't control himself.

The worst of it, he said, "was the vile and disrespectful type of behaviour and racial insults that were made toward me more than once."

Masoli said it's odd for a league that promotes "Diversity is our Strength" to hand out only a one-game suspension for racial insults toward another player.

He called comments Dickenson made in the aftermath insensitive and indicative of how oblivious the league is.

The only people who know what Marino said are the players that were in the area on the field.

I personally do not know Garrett Marino, because he always looks like he does not want to know me.

The media does not request him for an interview him because, well, some people just do not like media.

Marino's teammates say they love him and will support him, even pray for him, as he goes through this.

But I do know Craig Dickenson, and a finer person you will not meet.

Same for Cody Fajardo.

They did not condone Marino's actions, but they have his back.

Where it gets dicey are the racial remarks.

Dickenson went on live radio Monday night and said, "[Marino] is not a racist. There's zero evidence there's any racial motivation or any racial slurs."

"Marino is not racist. He is engaged to a Black woman."

Oops. Dickenson apologized minutes later for what he said.

After practice Tuesday, the coach said the league delivered a strong message to Marino by suspending him for four games.

"That's a lot of paycheques and they don't make much to begin with."

The team and Marino himself both acknowledged Wednesday that he had crossed the line, issuing separate apologies. 

Marino's statement, released by the team on his behalf, said he did not mean to injure Masoli and had been trying to connect with the quarterback directly over the last few days.

"Regarding the comments I made during the game, I regret that I said them, as I now understand their consequences," his statement said. "I know I play the game with an edge, and during the game I made an insensitive and culturally stereotypical remark. I now understand this as hurtful to my peers and hope I can be forgiven for that misunderstanding."

The team wished Masoli a speedy recovery and said it would be making a donation to the RedBlacks' mentorship program in Masoli's name. The program connects at-risk youth who have experienced racism and discrimination with mentors. 

Whether these gestures — and Marino's suspension — are enough for the opponents and fans rallying against Marino remains to be seen.

Is four games enough to rehabilitate a player whose job it is to get to quarterbacks and doesn't care how he gets there?

Marino is who he is. When he returns I'm sure he will be back to his curmudgeonly ways in no time.

Meanwhile, the Riders are off to Nova Scotia to play in Touchdown Atlantic, without Marino, this Saturday.

But no matter how far they travel, they won't escape the Garrett Marino story.