CFL ownership

LET’S BE PERFECTLY CLEAR ABOUT A FEW THINGS…
TO START WITH:
WITHOUT DAVID BRALEY…THERE IS NO CFL…
NOT ONLY DID BRALEY SAVE THE LIONS IN 1997…
BUT ON 5 OTHER OCCASIONS…
HE HAS COME TO THE RESCUE OF OTHER FRANCHISES IN THE LEAGUE WITH FINANCIAL SUPPORT…
INCLUDING THE TORONTO ARGONAUTS…
AT NO TIME DID BRALEY BREAK ANY CFL RULES OR BYLAWS…
AT NO TIME DID HE TAKE AN OWNERSHIP POSITION IN MORE THAN ONE TEAM…
AND AT NO TIME DID HE ATTEMPT TO COMPROMISE THE PRODUCT ON THE FIELD…
NEVERTHELESS…TODAY THE GLOBE AND MAIL RAN A FULL PAGE STORY WITH THE HEADLINE…
“CREDIBILITY GAP”…
CLEARLY SUGGESTING SOME KIND OF WRONG DOING…
THE COLUMN READ THIS WAY…
“BRALEY “SECRETLY” PUT UP HALF OF THE $2 MILLION FRANCHISE FEE…WHEN DAVID CYNAMON AND HOWARD SOKOLOWSKI PURCHASED THE TORONTO ARGONAUTS IN 2003”…
THE STORY WENT ONTO SAY THE DEAL TOOK PLACE “WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THEN CFL COMMISSIONER TOM WRIGHT…AND WAS UNKNOWN TO CURRENT COMMISSIONER MARK COHON”…
WHICH LEAVES THE QUESTION…”SO WHAT???”
BRALEY IS NOT REQUIRED TO SHARE HIS PERSONAL BUSINESS WITH ANY EMPLOYEE OF THE CFL…
AND THAT INCLUDES THE COMMISSIONER…
THERE IS ALSO NOTHING TO SUGGEST THAT THE INTEGRITY OF THE GAME HAS EVER BEEN COMPROMISED…
THE CFL MAY WANT TO CONSIDER MAKING ITS OPERATION MORE TRANSPARENT…BUT THAT’S ABOUT IT…
HERE’S THE MUCH BIGGER QUESTION…
WHERE DID THIS STORY COME FROM…AND WHO DOES IT BENEFIT???
THE TIMING OF ALL THIS IS…TO SAY THE LEAST…INTERESTING…
CYNAMON AND SOKOLOWSKI HAVE JUST MADE A PITCH TO BUY THE PHOENIX COYOTES…
WHICH MAKES THEM DIRECT COMPETITORS OF JIM BALSILLIE…
THE SAME JIM BALSILLIE WHO HAS JUST “HIRED” TOM WRIGHT…
THE SAME TOM WRIGHT WHO WAS “FIRED” BY DAVID BRALEY…
THE STORY WAS WRITTEN BY DAVID NAYLOR AND MATTHEW SEKERES…AND SO FAR…
THEY’RE NOT TALKING