MSL submits appeal, says they are their own governing body

Connor McClelland, one of 49 players the OLA has declared a free agent (Photo: Dave Fryer)

As reports indicated over the weekend, Major Series Lacrosse has indeed submitted an appeal to the Ontario Lacrosse Association regarding the return of the Excelsiors from Owen Sound to Brampton, as well as acknowledging missed and late payments for 49 drafted and protected players owed to Junior clubs in the province.

The association had recently communicated to the league that if these requirements were not met by the end of this month, they would no longer recognize the MSL executive and also suspend MSL Commissioner Doug Luey for five years.

In a statement shared by MSL earlier today, the league indicates:

MSL is going through this appeal process in the most respectful way possible and we ask for this to be dealt with in a timely manner so we as a league can move forward with our 2022 season, and prove once again that MSL truly is one of the best indoor lacrosse leagues in the world.

We do understand and respect that the OLA is the governing body of lacrosse for Ontario and MSL is under that umbrella. The OLA provides MSL the insurance needed to play, and is the governing body responsible for supporting an Ontario representative for the Mann Cup, the national championship for senior A lacrosse in Canada.

Outside of insurance and Mann Cup entry, it appears MSL feels that is where their relationship with the OLA ends. The statement continues:

The governing body of MSL is and always has been its Board of Governors, who collectively stand with its commissioner Doug Luey, Owen Sound Lacrosse Club owner Joe Norton, along with all teams - Brooklin Lacrosse Club, Cobourg Kodiaks, Oakville Rock, Owen Sound LC, Peterborough Lakers and Six Nations Chiefs, its Governors, players, volunteers and Executive Committee members.

During the 2021 OLA Annual General Meeting, Luey proposed a new rule regarding the OLA’s governance of MSL. The proposal, as included in the AGM’s 2021 Amendments Results Package, states:

PROPOSED CHANGE TO READ:

R5.09 Recognizing the particular position of Major Series Lacrosse within the structure of the Ontario Lacrosse Association as the most senior level of lacrosse played in the Province of Ontario, therefore the Rules & Regulations of the Ontario Lacrosse Association, insofar as they apply to Major Series and its members, shall apply; provided however, such Rules & Regulations shall not apply if they are contrary to or inconsistent with any present or future rule, regulation, provision or policy of Major Series Lacrosse; and the said rules, regulations, provisions and policies of Major Series Lacrosse shall take priority and apply.

REASON FOR PROPOSING CHANGE:

Basically, a notwithstanding clause that allows more autonomy for the highest level of lacrosse in the province. The past two years have given us an insight to some of the shortcomings under the current governance of our sport. Major Series Lacrosse finds it difficult to grow the game in the best interests of our members due to certain constraints.

The proposal was defeated by a membership vote.

During the same AGM, Luey also proposed scrapping the $300 fee MSL clubs are expected to reimburse Junior programs with when one of their players are drafted or protected by an MSL team. The reason for his proposed change reads:

MSL is making every effort to unify with the WLA the governance of our respective leagues. Only in Ontario have we built in a system where we take money from one member association and give it to another. In the WLA they celebrate and draft until every player has been selected. Every other sport has removed the payment of development fees to lower classifications. The NLL has never paid nor will they.

This proposal was also defeated on the day. As reported by The Lax Mag last week, MSL clubs collectively owe $15,000 in these fees currently.

It is worth noting, this same player development payment process is observed and adhered to between Ontario Junior Lacrosse League teams and the OLA minor clubs they’ve drafted those players from.

Also, while the OLA does protect a player’s rights within the province of Ontario after they graduate from their Junior program, there have been instances in the past where MSL teams have drafted a Junior player and then soon after sold that player’s rights to a WLA team, ultimately profiting monetarily through the Junior club’s development of that player. While an accepted practice in professional lacrosse, it’s uncommon in amateur athletics.

The status of Senior lacrosse in Canada - amateur vs. professional - is another area of debate that has seemingly never found a clear conclusion.

Peterborough Lakers spokesperson Brian Cowie told the Peterborough Examiner last week that if the league is unsuccessful in their appeal, they would consider legal action, “Because there seem to be a calamity of process errors on their part.”

As stated in today’s letter from the league, MSL’s proposed first game of the season is scheduled to take place on May 23rd in Six Nations, with Owen Sound slated to host their first-ever MSL game five days later.

The OLA Board of Directors continues to not acknowledge an Owen Sound MSL club after concerns of the team’s transfer of ownership between the Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club and Norton were noted by the association’s lawyers this past summer.

In August of 2021, the OLA requested sale-specific documentation to legally validate the transfer, but have seemingly yet to receive any.