Bob Mackin
The B.C. Lions violated their responsibility to provide wide receiver Arland Bruce III a safe workplace twice in 2012, according to an arbitrator’s May 2 ruling.
Bruce’s grievance for improper treatment of a concussion was heard after the B.C. Court of Appeal upheld a B.C. Supreme Court ruling that said the matter should be resolved under the Canadian Football League’s collective agreement, not in the courts.
Bruce, whose 250-game career ended after the 2013 season, accused the teams he played for and the CFL of violating the collective agreement with its players’ association.
Arbitrator Allen Ponak, who heard the case between April and October 2024, upheld three violations.
Arland Bruce III (BC Lions Alumni/Instagram)
“The 2012 preseason clearance to play violated the Lions’ responsibility to provide a safe workplace; enabling Mr. Bruce to play in the 2012 Western final without clearance from a physician violated the Lions’ responsibility to provide a safe workplace; and the failure of the Montreal Alouettes to retain the 2013 ImPACT [clinical report] it claimed to have administered violated its medical record keeping contractual obligations.”
Bruce suffered a concussion in a Sept. 29, 2012 game in Regina against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, five minutes into the second quarter when he jumped to catch a ball. A defensive back tackled Bruce’s upper body and Bruce’s head landed on the turf and appeared to bounce. Bruce was motionless on his back — with his right arm slightly elevated for 15 to 20 seconds — and likely unconscious, before he began to move.
Bruce was out for 49 days until the West final, in which he caught six passes for 56 yards.
He signed with Montreal in the off-season and played all 18 games and a playoff game.
Ponak wrote that Wally Buono, who was the Lions’ general manager in 2012, said he “did not pressure the medical staff regarding return to play decisions. He believed that the medical staff – Dr. [Navan] Prasad was specifically mentioned, put the player’s best interests first.”
Team doctor Prasad was unable to recall when Bruce’s last medical examination took place before the West final. He said day-to-day management of Bruce’s concussion was the responsibility of trainer Bill Reichelt.
The decision said Bruce “made no complaints to Mr. Reichelt before or after the game about experiencing any concussion symptoms. Mr. Bruce had already been cleared for the final regular season game but had not played.”
Bruce testified that he was not symptom-free for the West final, “but played because he was afraid of losing his job to other receivers who were being auditioned.”
Bruce claimed he suffered two previous concussions, with University of Minnesota and while on the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice roster, but said in a B.C. Supreme Court affidavit that he sustained “a countless number” of sub-concussive blows to the head and at least three documented concussions known to the CFL, Lions and Alouettes.
Bruce’s 2019 claim under the NFL’s concussion settlement was denied.
Bruce suffers some disability, including inner ear damage, cognitive defects and mental health challenges, “but not to the extent claimed,” Ponak ruled.
Comparisons of 2012 and 2024 MRI scans do not establish permanent brain damage and evidence does not establish he suffers from traumatic encephalopathy syndrome. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy can only be diagnosed after death.
Bruce’s social media postings “demonstrate a level of cognitive and physical functionality well in excess of the claimed level of severe impairment.
Bruce was fifth in all-time CFL touchdowns received (94). He won Grey Cups with Toronto (2004) and B.C. (2011). His career ended in early 2014 season when the Alouettes released him after remarks on Instagram about Michael Sam, the CFL’s first openly gay player.
“Mr. Bruce denied being homophobic and said that any such comments, which he was not convinced were his own, were meant in jest,” Ponak wrote.
Ponak said the parties are invited to make further submissions if they cannot agree on compensation for Bruce.
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