Eskimos release Christion Jones following homophobic tweets

EDMONTON — The Edmonton Eskimos have released receiver/kick returner Christion Jones in response to homophobic comments made on his Twitter account.

Edmonton made the announcement in a statement on Sunday, one day after Jones posted the remarks on his Twitter account.

“We stand by the LGBTQ2+ community and firmly condemn the language used by Christion Jones. There is no place for such commentary on our team,” the statement read.

The CFL also released a statement on the issue Sunday.

“Our league makes no claim on perfection but it does strive to be inclusive, to accept and indeed celebrate our differences, and to respect and honour human rights. There is no place in our league for commentary that disparages people on the basis of their religion, race, gender or sexual orientation,” it said.

“As Pride Month continues, we stand with the LGBTQ+ community. We all need to say no to hate and yes to love.”

On Saturday — the same day as the Global Pride Parade — Jones tweeted: “Ima keep it this real… Man ain’t supposed to be with a man. A women is not suppose to be with another women. THATS ME THO! Live life with safety.”

Following his release, Jones apologized with another tweet on Sunday.

“My words were deeply hurtful, painful and served zero purpose. I added to the struggle of a community, to live a life free of oppression of any kind. I sincerely apologize. I was wrong.”

Jones was traded to Edmonton midway through the 2019 season after spending his entire four-year CFL career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Shortly after being acquired however, he suffered a season-ending injury.

The 27-year-old from Alabama was primarily in charge of returning kicks last season. In 13 games split between the two organizations in 2019, he has accumulated 43 receiving yards on seven catches to go along with 1,480 return yards over 105 total attempts.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 28, 2020.

The Canadian Press