Football inductees leave SFU Sports Hall of Fame
Published
In a show of solidarity with the players and coaching staff of Simon Fraser University, the 11 football-only members of the SFU Sports Hall of Fame have collectively announced that they are walking out from their enshrinement.
“I don’t wish to be affiliated with or have my prior football career ‘bring excellence’ to a university that no longer recognizes collegiate football as a worthwhile entity or endeavour for young amateur athletes throughout British Columbia,” said SFU alumnus and Canadian Football Hall of Famer Lui Passaglia in a statement.
The members announced that they "would be happy to return" when the football program is reinstated, after school president Joy Johnson announced April 4 that Simon Fraser was discontinuing its football program, effective immediately. Johnson added the decision wasn't financially based, rather on the Texas-based Lone Star Conference's announcement it would not renew its football affiliation with Simon Fraser past the 2023 campaign.
The list of inductees withdrawing include Lui Passaglia, Sean Millington, Glen Jackson, Terry Bailey, Doug Brown, Dave Cutler, Wayne Holm, Rick House, Neil McKinlay, Rob McLaren, and Orville Lee. The group does not include teams, multi-sport or deceased inductees.
“My experience at SFU was formative and something I cherished, said Millington in a statement. "It was a very special time. And because of that I can’t support the administration’s decision to take this opportunity away from the next generation.
Inductee Doug Brown aligns with Passaglia on the motivation to stand with the current team.
“The administration has eliminated half of the university football opportunities for our players in BC. We all stand united in saying this is unacceptable and not representative of the Simon Fraser program we represented,” he said.
Files from CP were used for this report.