VERITAS TD&F: FUMBLE- ARGO RECEIVER RUNS OUT OF OPTIONS

Arland Bruce is a talented veteran receiver with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. But what is it about receivers in pro football? Bruce has been fined four times this season for various infractions, such as leaving his playbook on an airplane, and for doing (what he admitted was) an on-field imitation of the late Michael Jackson in his coffin after scoring a touchdown for the Argos (laying perfectly still on his back in the end zone with his arms folded across his chest). But he ran out of options, it appears, after verbally thrashing his coach and quarterback in the Globe and Mail this week. He accused coach Bart Andrus of “trying to make an example of me” and offered his advice that the coach should instead “worry about getting the quarterback (Kerry Joseph) right and getting on his ass.” Andrus, to his credit, reacted calmly by leaving Bruce at home for the Argo’s game this week and telling The Fan 590: “There's a certain degree of loyalty you need in an organization and when a guy can’t (give it) he can’t function in the group.” Not taking internal conflicts public in the media is a major issue for all organizations, whether you’re in the sports world or not. But it’s particularly frowned upon in sports, and even more so in football, where teammates are expected to be warriors who go to battle shoulder-to-shoulder. As coach Andrus summed up (and coaches always have the last word on these matters): “He (Bruce) has not been a good teammate and he has not been a team player and I think that he needs to take a good look at himself and see if he’s going to be able to function in pro football.”