B.C. Lions release Josh Hagerty after internal review

Photo courtesy: Paul Yates/B.C. Lions

The B.C. Lions have released Canadian defensive back Josh Hagerty, the team announced on Tuesday.

“Over the past two weeks, the B.C. Lions have conducted a review of the circumstances surrounding the league’s suspension of safety Josh Hagerty,” wrote general manager Ryan Rigmaiden in a statement.

“As part of that process, we met with Josh and his representatives to discuss the incident, the factors that led to it, and the potential consequences of his conduct. We also made professional support available to him during the period of his suspension.

“With that review now complete, the club has decided to release him. While we respect Josh, his actions were inconsistent with the standards expected of a B.C. Lion. We believe this decision is in the best interests of the organization going forward.”

Hagerty recently completed a two-game suspension, which the CFL levied in mid-September for twice striking Montreal Alouettes running back Liam Talbot in the groin in Week 15.

3DownNation reported that Talbot was forced to undergo season-ending surgery as a result of the punches. The injury was described as potentially “life-altering” by sources familiar with the situation.

In the days after the suspension was announced, the Lions described Hagerty’s conduct as “unacceptable” and “a huge mistake,” but indicated he would not be released. They’ve since changed course.

“We’ve been reviewing it for the last number of weeks, and after those two weeks we came to a conclusion of what was the best for all parties involved,” head coach Buck Pierce told the media on Tuesday.

“(Our review included) conversations. We have conversations of everything, looking from the player’s perspective, the organization’s point of view, and league-wide too, so it’s not something that we take lightly. The kid made a mistake, and we’re hoping that he can move on with that as well, and an incident like that should never happen.”

Hagerty played 13 regular-season games with B.C. this year and made two starts, tallying 11 defensive tackles and nine special teams tackles. The Regina, Sask. native has played 69 career regular-season CFL games with the Toronto Argonauts, Edmonton Elks, and Lions.

Two other players — one from each team — were suspended one game for their actions in the Week 15 game between Montreal and B.C., while four more received fines. The Alouettes have subsequently alleged that there was a separate strike to the groin delivered when the two teams played in Week 14. Hagerty was not involved in that incident.

In an official statement to 3DownNation, the Lions said that “the idea that we encourage and condone these plays is unequivocally false.”

The B.C. Lions (9-6) will host the Ottawa Redblacks (0-15) on Friday, October 9, with kickoff scheduled for 10:00 p.m. EDT. The Redblacks are coming off a loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, while the Lions have won seven of their last eight matchups.

The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in on TSN 1200 in Ottawa and 730 CKNW (English) or Sher-E-Punjab Radio AM 600 (Punjabi) in Vancouver.