Cornish says sorry for mooning
New Westminster native Jon Cornish has apologized for what’s being called his ‘Moon over Mosaic’ showing during the Calgary Stampeders’ 30-25 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders last Sunday.
The former St. Thomas More Knights running back, who leads the Canadian Football League in rushing this season, is reported to have pulled down his pants and mooned Roughriders’ fans at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field who had been taunting him. At a press conference in Calgary on Monday, Cornish, the son of an Anglican minister, apologized to head coach John Hufnagel, his teammates, the Stampeder organization and fans as well as the Roughriders.
“The incident was a mistake on my part,” he told reporters. “I definitely took things too far and it reflects poorly on the organization.
“It was a bad call on my part. It was an extreme lack of judgment.”
Cornish was expected to be fined by both the team and the league. On his Twitter account after the game, Cornish wrote, “Lol gotta love the rider fans calling out my equipment adjustment on the sideline. They mad I’m not mad.”
Hufnagel didn’t take it so lightly.
“I think you see how disappointed Jon is in himself,” Hufnagel told the gathering. “Once he fully realized the repercussions of it all. I’ve had a chat with Jon about it. He knows my feelings about it, he knows our president Lyle Bauer’s feelings about it.
“I’m not making excuses for Jon. I’m very disappointed for Jon Cornish. He is a young man that likes to enjoy things … But he took something way too far and it needs to be dealt with.”
After giving up 159 rushing yards to Cornish earlier in the season, the Riders held him to just 67 on Sunday. Despite the low output, Cornish leads the league with 947 rushing yards, 128 more than second place Kory Sheets of Saskatchewan. He is on track to become the first Canadian to lead the CFL in rushing since former Simon Fraser University star Orville Lee did it in 1988 playing for the Ottawa Rough Riders.
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