Jimenez Fined

Jason Jimenez has been fined for his hit on BC Lions' Defensive Lineman Brent Johnson. He was fined the maximum allowed, which is one-half game cheque, but we are unsure as to how much money that actually is because CFL salaries are not made public.

Many were calling for Jimenez's head following his low blow on Johnson. Some were saying he should be suspended, some were saying the Cats should cut him, and others went even further, saying that Jimenez should be banned from the league. A suspension I could have understood, and he probably should have been suspended, but cutting him wouldn't have done anything (another team would have signed him, guaranteed), and banning him would have been going overboard. The punishment should fit the crime, as the saying goes, and what Jimenez did was not worthy of being banned for life.

This is not the first time Jimenez has been on the wrong side of the CFL law. He was suspended for one game following a hit he put on former Calgary Stampeders' Defensive Lineman Anthony Gargiulo in 2007 that ended Gargiulo's career. Jimenez appealed the suspension and won. If anything was going to get him banned, it should have been this incident. One player's career being ended because of a dirty hit would be worthy of banishment.

Now far be it for me to defend Jimenez, because I find what he did abhorrent. But as someone who once played football, I know that having respect for your opponent is key. I may not have liked any of the players I played against (ask any of my former teammates; no one could manufacture hate quite like me), but I always respected them enough not to injure them.

That said, when Brent Johnson, who was a former teammate of Jimenez's in BC, comes out and says that Jimenez should be gone from the CFL, I ask myself, "Self, did Brent Johnson feel that way three years ago when he was Jimenez's teammate and he ended Gargiulo's career? Or did he just brush it off and defend his teammate?" It's this self-righteous attitude that I am finding myself having a problem with, especially from a former teammate like Brent Johnson. Detest what Jimenez did, even speak out against it, but don't go overboard. He was fined, and I imagine he'll be getting monitored more closely by the league from here on out.

Case closed.