The CFL has "cut ties with the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport in a dispute over the league’s drug policy," according to Joshua Clipperton of the CP. The move "came after the head of the only laboratory in Canada sanctioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency slammed the league earlier" last week. Christiane Ayotte, director of the Montreal lab approved by WADA, said that her lab "would not test CFL samples moving forward because of the league’s refusal to suspend first-time offenders or uphold drug bans handed down in university." A CFL spokesperson on Friday said the league is “actively pursuing new partners to do our testing” (CP, 6/12). In Edmonton, Chris O'Leary noted new CFL Commissioner Jeffrey Orridge "has been on the job for less than three months," and he is "already dealing with a crisis." Orridge said, "We're in conversations -- very significant conversations -- with a number of different alternatives, but we're in pretty good shape." He added, "We feel that the testing is not going to (be) interrupted and will continue to service the league and the players and preserve the integrity of the league." Orridge said using U.S. labs for testing is "under discussion now." Orridge: "We're going to look at the best possible alternative" (EDMONTON JOURNAL, 6/14). In Winnipeg, Paul Friesen wrote under the header, "With Soft Steroid Stance, CFL Is Dopers' Delight." The UFC "now puts to shame the CFL's stance on drugs," signing on with USADA earlier this month. The CFL, with its "new commissioner and new head of the players union, looks backward and broken" (WINNIPEG SUN, 6/14).
