Former college football players take their school to court

A group of former college football players have filed an injunction against their school in a move to force the university to re-open the football program.

Simon Fraser University in Canada announced that it was closing down the football team permanently, according to a report from CBC.

The players are also filing a separate claim that alleges the school violated its contract by shutting down the football program.

Broken promises

"These players all came to SFU based on promises," lawyer Peter Gall said.

"[Promises] that they would play football and get a great education. So with very little notice the program is now being terminated. We say that's a breach of contract."

The school announced on April 4 that it will stop playing football for good.

"The university has carefully considered all available options and as a leadership team, we concluded that football is no longer a feasible sport for SFU," school president Joy Johnson said in a statement at the time.

What happened

Simon Fraser had to play its football games in the state of Washington over border restrictions put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

And then, as with many schools playing Division II football on the West Coast, the school went looking for a new home, finally joining the Lone Star Conference, comprised of teams based in Texas and New Mexico, as an affiliate member.

But then, that league announced that SFU was not invited to stay as a member beyond this coming season.

SFU was the only Canadian school to play in the US at the Division II level.

The football players have friends in high places across the football scene in Canada, including the head of the Canadian Football League, the director of that league's player association, and the president of Football Canada.

All have written letters to Simon Fraser condemning the school's decision to terminate its football program and asked it to re-instate the team.

(CBC)

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