Tribute to great Caste victim

[Gi-15]

I just want to tell you that one of the greatest canadian-raised football player as just retired, Éric Lapointe was one of the victim of this system you call "Caste".6' 220, He wasa 3-Time all-canadian at mount allison(ontario), rookie of the year in the CIS (canadian NCAA) and 2 time winner of the hec crighton award (canada's heisman) and he set all the canadian college rushing records during his 4 year career (all broke by jesse lusmden since then) and was only recruted in the 3rd round in 1999by the edmonton eskimos,who cut him during training camp. he was snatched by thehamiltion ti-cats and finished with a respectable 691 yard on 105 carries (unfortunatly,both career-high)despite starting only 4games. He was tradednext year to the toronto argonauts, who made him a backup. he only got 11 carries on all the18-games season. next year he signed as a free-agent with his hometown montreal alouettes, where he got thebackup job to all-time CFL leading rusher Mike Pringle, he played mostly special teams the next two years, getting30 carriesduring that time. When Pringle was cut, Eric was set to take his place, but then coach Don Matthews signed this.....thing called Lawrence Philips, and gave him the job. Lapointe was "too valuable on special teams" to be given the feature role. He also got hurt that year. Philips was good on the field, but he quitted the team at season end. Coming back from his injured ankle, Eric took the starting job and rushed for about 500 years on 75 carries. Next year, guess what, he is promised the starting job again, only until some bum named Autry Denson sign during training camp take it away from him. But all the way during the season,Lapointe prove to be the better back, aving a 6.1/ ypcagainst the 4.9/ypc Denson had. Denson was cut in the offseason.in2005,Lapointe finally got what he deserved, the RB starting spot. Despite aving very good number(5.8 ypc) he his replacedon mid-season by newcomer Robert Edwards,former NFL 1stround pick. Don't get me wrong, edwards is a great player, but the fact that you need a minimum of candian players on the field combinedwith the fact that Lapointe was statisticaly in thetop 5 of the league and stilllosing his spot to ablack americanRB is total BS. Lapointe got screwed. He still started the semi-finals(edwards was hurt - ribs)and got 3 TDs. What is his reward for him carrying his team on his shoulders to the grey cup? Benched in favor of a 80% healthy edwards. Als lost this one. He once gained played second fiddle to Edwards in 06, only to retire this year.

Eric, you were screwed. Congratulation for your great career man. I wish you luck in your future.





PS: Sorry to post it in the nfl section,I didnt knew where to post it.

 

[Don Wassall]

The NFL forumis a good place to post about Eric Lapointe, welcome. Robert Edwards was a first round draft pick but blew out his knee after his rookie season (playing touch football on a beach!) andnever was close to beingthe same. Denson was a bum, and Lawrence Phillips was far worse than a disgrace. Sounds like Lapointe got the treatment so many white American running backs have received. There's a perception that the CFL isn't as unfair to white players as U.S. colleges and the NFL, but it's apparently only by a matter of degrees rather than a large difference.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

I don't watch the CFL, even though I'm Canadian and knew little about Lapointe. Good post!

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

Here's a Jesse Lumsden update though, so far he's being treated unfairly too, even though he was the sixth pick in the draft by the Hamilton Tigercats!

2006: Played in four games for the Tiger-Cats, recording 163 yards on 40 carries (4.1 avg) and five receptions for 51 yards .. signed as a free agent with the Washington Redskins of the NFL and attended traning camp ...

2005: Joined the Ticats on September 12 after attending training camp with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks ... In seven games, Lumsden carried the ball 60 times for 307 yards and one touchdown, made 11 receptions for 153 yards and one touchdown, and also returned 11 kickoffs for 259 yards (23.5 avg)
Edited by: ToughJ.Riggins

 

[lumsdenpower]

It's because at Montreal, the Head Coach Don Mattews doesn't love ''quebecers'' now he is not here so everything will change. Mattews was an american and he take the less canadian he can. That wasnt a caste of colour this time but a caste of nationality..

 

[Troy_Bruno]

Dude this ought to be a criminal act. Something this coach should get prosecuted over. This is horrible.

 

[Kaptain]

Ricky Williams was supposed to be one of the best RBs in the NFL. He flopped big time in Canada. I believe he averaged less than 3 yards a carry. Word is that the Dolphins are again interested in taking Mararickywana Williams back yet again. That pretty much proves that NFL talent is not as great as everyone thinks.

 

[bigunreal]

Wow- even in Canada, this stuff happens to white guys. Maybe they can start a league in Europe somewhere; if they have enough professional leagues, perhaps eventually they'll run out of black players from the inner cities to fill the rosters.