Photo courtesy: Saskatchewan Roughriders
It appears the illegal hit that injured Redblacks star quarterback Jeremiah Masoli may not have been the most heinous act committed by Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker Garrett Marino on Friday.
Ottawa receiver Nate Behar lashed out at Marino with his postgame comments on team radio, but in a separate interview with TSN television cameras, the Canadian pass catcher went into further detail about his opponent’s behavior. This includes accusing Marino of making racist comments on the field.
“Everybody cheering for this dude, rooting for him, cheering when he runs off the field, bending over and all that stuff, I hope he finds a way to sleep tonight. The same dude who screams racist crap at the bottom of a pile. The same dude that fell to one of the best defenders in this league, one of the best dudes in this league,” Behar said.
“I literally cannot believe what I witnessed. It was the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen in my entire life. You make people scream and cheer you for it. I know this place has to be better. It is supposed to be the heart of Canada. Everyone has to be cool and smile and all that stuff. That was ridiculous.”
Marino’s hit on Masoli came with just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter when he broke free from Dino Boyd’s right tackle and dove toward the quarterback’s knees. The contact was both low and late, causing the defender to be ejected and leaving his victim lying in pain on the field.
Masoli later had to be carried off by teammates, while Marino was seen cheering on from the Mosaic Stadium crowd as he was escorted to the dressing room. The Riders would go on to win 28-13.
It wasn’t Marino’s first altercation with the Redblacks, as Marino allegedly bumped into the team at dinner at The Keg in Regina the night before and engaged in some public shenanigans.
Behar went on to say that Marino’s previous language and actions indicated that dangerous play was afoot. This leaves the responsibility for Masoli’s serious injury on the shoulders of the referees.
“We all know since we were in fucking university, since we were in high school, when the refs let things go for God knows how long, we know what happens. It’s the most obvious thing in the world. You’ve got people doing fucking shots, head shots for a quarter and a quarter at a time. You know what the hell is going to happen,” snapped Behar.
“I know I’m going to get fined and I literally don’t care. This dude has two kids. He has two beautiful children to support and you go through his shins and then get up bending over and calling him things no one should call anyone. Come on, this is beyond any code on earth.
It’s almost certain that Marino will face additional CFL discipline for his hit, and the punishment for accusations of racism should be even harsher in a league that uses “Diversity is strength” as a catchphrase.
Regardless of the CFL’s response, Behar believes everyone in Rider Nation — fans, players and coaches — needs to reevaluate their values if they continue to stand behind Marino.
“They support him. They know who he is. They know. Because when he left the field there, some of them said, ‘yeah, we know who he is,'” Behar said. “We know, we know, we know, and yet everyone keeps cheering.”
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