Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly throws the ball during CFL action against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Toronto on Aug. 22.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
It’s been called a last-chance agreement but Randy Ambrosie sees the CFL’s reinstatement of Chad Kelly as the league holding the Toronto Argonauts quarterback accountable for a promise he made to the commissioner.
The CFL reinstated Kelly on Aug. 18, with conditions, in what it termed “a last-chance agreement.” He was suspended on May 7 for Toronto’s two exhibition games and a minimum of nine regular-season contests for violating the league’s gender-based violence policy.
The sanction followed an independent investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against Kelly for sexual harassment and the Argos for wrongful dismissal. The lawsuit was settled in June through mediation involving all parties.
Under terms of the suspension, Kelly had to undergo a confidential psychological assessment by an independent expert and attend mandatory counselling sessions conducted by a gender-based violence expert. Both elements had to be satisfactorily completed before the CFL would consider Kelly’s reinstatement, and the league reserved the right to modify his discipline.
The CFL received Kelly’s confidential psychological assessment Aug. 10. After it examined the results with the help of experts, Ambrosie had an in-person discussion with Kelly. The reinstatement announcement followed.
“In its simplest terms, the use of the condition as we defined it, it was about holding Chad accountable to the promise he made that this will never happen again,” Ambrosie said. “For me, that was really important and I shared that with him, that my expectations were he was going to honour that promise.
“We’ve committed that we won’t share any of the details but I think the fundamental element of this was a promise made and the expectation of a promise that will be kept I’m going to hold him accountable to that and I think it’s no less than what he’d want me to.”
The CFL’s decision to reinstate Kelly drew plenty of criticism on social media. Two days later, Kelly formally apologized for the conduct that led to his suspension, stating, “I just want everybody to know I’m sorry and I will be better and be a better teammate and person from this.”
Kelly, the CFL’s most outstanding player last season, will make his second start of the season Monday when Toronto (6-4) visits the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-9) in the annual Labour Day game. The 30-year-old American was 24-of-39 passing for 322 yards and an interception in his ‘24 debut, a 20-19 home win over Saskatchewan on Aug. 22.
Ambrosie expressed confidence the CFL was very thorough in its due diligence.
“Every facet of the issue was investigated carefully,” he said. “The report from the doctor from the assessment was reviewed carefully, consultations with the counsellor were reviewed carefully.
“And then, very importantly, our conversations with our expert to really better understand the issue and make sure we had a deep understanding of it looking through the lens of our policy. All of those things were done with utmost care.”
Ambrosie said Kelly was “contrite” regarding his actions.
“It would be nice to say that you could be completely confident every time you make a final decision that you got it perfectly right, but I don’t have that view,” he said. “I think you do the best you can, you take everything into account.
“You listen to people, you listen to experts and then – as I’ve tried to do now for seven-plus years – you try to do what you believe is right. We need a safe workplace for everyone in our league, we need to promote safe workplaces.”