The BC Lions released defensive back Josh Hagerty on Tuesday after the CFL suspended him for two games over a groin-punch incident involving Liam Talbot.
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The BC Lions released defensive back Josh Hagerty on Tuesday, following a CFL suspension for an incident in which he struck Montreal Alouettes running back Liam Talbot twice in the groin.
The incident ended Talbot’s season, and he required emergency surgery for what has been described as a “life-altering” injury. Some figures within the Alouettes organization said the two-game suspension did not match the severity of the incident.
Alouettes defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund said the suspension was “definitely not enough,” adding that the team had to “move forward as a team.”
CFL special teams coordinator Byron Archambault also criticized the league’s response, saying the incident appeared to be part of a pattern seen on video in two consecutive games against the same unit. He said the league incident involved a player on punt return getting hit “in the balls,” calling it dangerous and “not a football play.”
Before Hagerty returned to play, the Lions initially indicated they would not seek additional discipline or remove him from the roster. Lions general manager Ryan Rigmaiden said at the time that, “Just knowing who Josh is, this is the last guy that I think any of us would have thought that something like this would have happened.”
After Hagerty completed his suspension, Rigmaiden changed course following a review by the club. In a statement, the Lions said they conducted a review of the circumstances around the league’s suspension over the past two weeks, met with Hagerty and his representatives, discussed the incident and factors leading to it, and made professional support available during the suspension period.
With the review complete, the Lions said they decided to release Hagerty. The club said it respects him but that his actions were inconsistent with the standards expected of a BC Lion, and that the decision was made in the best interests of the organization going forward.
In response to the Alouettes’ claims about other incidents, the Lions said the team takes pride in playing “the right way and within the rules,” adding that “the idea that we encourage and condone these plays is unequivocally false.”
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