Can Major Series Lacrosse be saved? We find out Friday.
Mark Steenhuis, Peterborough Lakers 2010 (Photo: Dave Fryer)
Although no one is speaking on record due to a media blackout, Ontario Lacrosse Association VP of Junior-Major, Sean O’Callaghan, has confirmed with The Peterborough Examiner that the association and league will be providing a joint statement by the end of this week on the status of the 2022 Major Series Lacrosse season.
This past Tuesday evening, representatives from the OLA, MSL and Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club met to discuss somehow salvaging the 2022 senior season. The MSL regular season was postponed on May 26th over fear of litigation by Bug Juice owner Joe Norton, who sources confirm with The Lax Mag was not in attendance on Tuesday.
Norton, whose 2018 purchase of the Brampton Major Excelsiors has been questioned and not recognized by the OLA Board of Directors (ditto for his relocation of the team to Owen Sound a few seasons later), presented the OLA, MSL and BELC with a legal letter on May 20th, indicating that if Excelsiors assets he claims ownership of are not returned or are misused by the BELC and others, those three previously mentioned parties would face significant financial consequences.
The OLA’s ownership-related requirements came with significant discipline themselves, which also included $15K in missed player development payments MSL clubs owed to various junior programs throughout the province. If the Excelsiors were not returned to Brampton and those payments not made, the OLA would no longer recognize the MSL Executive and also suspend Commissioner Doug Luey for five years. Luey and the league appealed the decision and lost.
Although MSL attempted to start their season outside of OLA sanctioning and sans approved officials soon after, the league eventually pushed pause on 2022 due to Norton’s legal threats.
Tuesday’s gathering was an attempt at meeting somewhere in the middle over the status of both the BELC’s Excelsiors and Norton’s Owen Sound-based club. That resolution would presumably restart their season as well.
The OLA had demanded the Excelsiors be returned to Brampton after their various concerns over the legality and legitimacy of the sale to Norton four years ago, while Norton of course feels he is the club’s rightful owner. Although what he paid for the Excelsiors has become a confusing matter to confirm, Norton claims to have spent upwards of $500K on the team since purchasing it.
Sean O’Callaghan, the OLA’s vice-president of junior to major, confirmed proposals were made to both the Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club (BELC) and Owen Sound Lacrosse Club to be taken back to their respective ownership and executive groups with a request to inform the OLA and MSL of their decisions within 72 hours.
O’Callaghan said he cannot get into the details of the proposal but said the OLA and MSL will issue a joint press release by the end of the week.
In recent weeks, The Lax Mag has heard sources close to the situation speculate on a season that would include both or neither team. Plus, MSL previously pitched the idea of having Owen Sound play but Brampton wait a year and then figure out who suits up for which side in 2023. Through the OLA’s ruling and appeal tribunal decision, the association indicated Owen Sound could be an expansion entry. Luey and the league would likely think the opposite based on their various statements supporting Norton.
Although not specifically stated in the brief update O’Callaghan provided The Examiner, one would have to believe that if a resolution is achieved between the BELC and MSL, the OLA would still need to ensure it meets their rules, regulations and receives their Board of Directors’ approval.
The Western Lacrosse Association, who the MSL would typically meet in the Mann Cup Final, host their 11th game of the season tonight at the historic Queen’s Park Arena in New Westminster, British Columbia.
Over the past 14 senior seasons, an MSL team has won the Mann Cup 13 times, those victories shared by the Peterborough Lakers, Six Nations Chiefs and in-limbo Brampton Excelsiors.