The first time Josh Hagerty punched Liam Talbot in the groin, the play was all but over for both of them — the kick return in last Saturday’s game between the B.C. Lions and Montreal Alouettes had already flowed to the other side of the field.
asserted
return → punch → field
You keep playing, of course, keep fighting, keep competing.
asserted
You → keep → course
And Hagerty smashed the Alouettes rookie with a low blow, and Talbot pulled Hagerty to the ground.
asserted
Talbot → smash → ground
Things happen in football.
asserted
Things → happen → football
The second time Hagerty punched Talbot in the groin, the ball was also far away; they were just two Canadian athletes handfighting the way they had been taught from the time they were young men, except Hagerty again swung low.
asserted
Hagerty → punch → time
If you watch the tape, both swings are a little grainy, but they don’t look like the more typical uppercut swim move to break contact with a blocker.
asserted
they → watch → blocker
They look intentional.
asserted
They → look → ?
There need to be consequences for this kind of unacceptable play that puts players’ safety at risk.
asserted
that → need → risk
— Marco Dubois (@MarcoDubois_88) September 16, 2026
@CFL pic.twitter.com/yAcx7ByBmJ
No penalty was called, the Lions won 48-29 and Talbot finished the game.
asserted
Talbot → call → game
But as reported by the invaluable CFL website 3DownNation, that’s where things got scary.
asserted
things → report → website
A few days later, Talbot went to hospital and underwent surgery, and he is out for the season.
asserted
he → go → season
In fact, sources told the website the injury was “life-altering, with potential consequences extending well beyond Talbot’s football career.
asserted
consequences → tell → career
Specific details regarding his prognosis are being withheld out of respect for his medical privacy.
asserted
details → regard → privacy
And Hagerty, who is in his sixth season as a sixth-round draft pick out of the University of Saskatchewan, was suspended for two games.
asserted
who → suspend → games
If 3DownNation is right, this feels shockingly low.
asserted
this → feel → ?
And because it was a groin punch, the incident has attracted some attention.
asserted
incident → attract → attention
Look, football is still suspicious about suspensions as a concept.
asserted
football → look → concept
Suspensions for on-field misbehaviour used to be vanishingly rare: the first multi-game penalty in NFL history for an on-field act didn’t occur until 1986, when Charles Martin body-slammed Chicago’s Jim McMahon on a late hit.
asserted
Martin → use → hit
The first suspension for a helmet-to-helmet hit didn’t come until 2002 (Rodney Harrison, Jerry Rice).
asserted
suspension → come → 2002
Dirtiest play has to be Charles Martin of the Packers body slamming Jim McMahon in ‘86 to end his season and derail the Bears hopes to defend their Super Bowl title https://t.co/WmntZmIRVQ pic.twitter.com/WZwKPcMPq1
— Impressed Bears Fan (@ImBearsFan) October 15, 2025
And in the CFL, two games is the longest suspension for a single on-field act in league history.
asserted
games → have → history
Khalif Mitchell in 2012 (for hyperextending the arm of offensive lineman Simeon Rottier), Simoni Lawrence in 2019 (headshot on QB Zach Collaros) and Garrett Marino in 2022 (for a low hit that injured QB Jeremiah Masoli), though the league tacked on two separate single-game suspensions for a racial slur and a separate illegal tackle.
asserted
league → hyperextend → slur
In each case, the suspension can be appealed to an arbitrator; that was the main reason the CFL broke up Marino’s suspensions.
asserted
CFL → appeal → suspensions
In this case, two games for Hagerty seems wholly insufficient, and is about as severe as anything the league has ever done.
asserted
league → seem → anything
As Alouettes fullback Marco Dubois said, this kind of play is unacceptable even before you find out about the injury.
asserted
you → say → injury
Listen, nobody should have any illusions left about football.
asserted
nobody → listen → football
It’s a beautifully brutal sport and always will be.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
It has improved, to be clear.
asserted
It → improve → ?
Derek Anderson, who played quarterback in the NFL from 2006 until 2018, told me in 2016 that when he first arrived in the league he was shocked at how predatory the headhunting was toward QBs and receivers, and that it had gotten much better.
asserted
it → play → QBs
Concussion spotters can miss hits, but 20 years ago concussion spotters didn’t exist.
asserted
spotters → miss → hits
Football has gotten safer over the years, even if it’s not safe.
asserted
it → get → years
But these were dirty plays, even if they came from a player without a history of dirty plays.
asserted
they → come → plays
It feels small.
asserted
It → feel → ?
Some people familiar with the system blame an unsophisticated discipline process.
asserted
people → blame → process
Meanwhile, the NFL has added to a more formal system year after year.
asserted
NFL → add → year
As CFL revenues rise, the league should do the same.
asserted
league → rise → same
Mostly in all this, I am thinking about Talbot and about the vulnerability of CFL players.
asserted
I → think → players
Talbot is a 23-year-old kid from London, Ont. in his rookie season after being drafted in the fourth round out of the University of Windsor.
asserted
Talbot → draft → Windsor
And if injured long term, he’s not eligible for workers’ comp.
asserted
he → injure → comp
And his life may have just changed.
uncertain
life → change → ?
The CFL has largely escaped the bigger player safety conversation, partly because many players disappear back into the U.S. when their careers end.
asserted
careers → escape → U.S.
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
