‘I feel bad for what happened’: Riders’ Marino returns to practice following suspension

Garrett Marino said Tuesday he regrets the incident that saw him miss four games for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“I wish it could have went differently, I feel horrible that Jeremiah (Masoli) got hurt and I just want to move on,” the Roughriders’ defensive lineman said after practice, his first since he was suspended by the league on July 12.

“Obviously, I want to apologize. I feel bad for what happened, but it is what it is.”

In a July 8 game between the Riders and visiting Ottawa Redblacks, Marino was penalized for a low hit on Masoli that ended up injuring the Redblacks pivot. Masoli hasn’t played since.

Marino was ejected for the hit and was celebrating and blowing kisses as he was escorted to the tunnel leading to the Roughriders’ locker room.

“I didn’t even know he was hurt,” Marino said Tuesday in his first comments to the media since the incident. “At the time, it was just heat of the moment. I wasn’t thinking about anything else.”

Along with those actions, the CFL also suspended Marino for comments about Masoli’s heritage. On Tuesday, Marino said he wouldn’t go into specifics about those comments.

“It wasn’t cool. I felt like I let Rider Nation down. I let my teammates down not being out there with the team so it was kind of depressing,” Marino said.

Marino and the Roughriders issued a statement about the suspension July 13, with the player apologizing for his actions on the field and off.

Saskatchewan general manager Jeremy O’Day and Roughriders president and CEO Craig Reynolds also addressed Marino’s suspension.

The workout Tuesday was the first time Marino was able to rejoin his teammates on the field after the four-game suspension – the largest ever handed out by the CFL for an on-field incident.

“He’s happy to be back. I think he really missed his teammates and I think he really missed football and I think he’s thrilled to be back and being around the guys and being around the team,” Riders head Craig Dickenson said.

“I would say (with) his demeanour, if anything, there’s more gratitude and joy with him.”

“It feels great. I’m excited to be back with the team and looking forward to B.C.,” added Marino, referring to Friday’s game against the visiting Lions.

Marino isn’t the only Saskatchewan player who could make his return against B.C. Defensive end Pete Robertson, who has a CFL-leading seven sacks, and defensive end A.C. Leonard practised Tuesday as well.

Those three defensive linemen missed the first meeting of the 2022 season between the Riders and Lions on July 29. The first one saw the Lions score 28 unanswered points en route to a 32-17 win over the Riders.

“We’re starting to get some dudes back so we should be playing better football moving on,” Dickenson said.

Kickoff for Friday’s game is set for 8 p.m. The Green Zone pre-game show begins at 6 p.m.

NOTES: The Roughriders announced they had released offensive tackle Na’Ty Rodgers and slotback Jakob Prall. Rodgers was the starting right tackle for Saskatchewan’s first nine games, but was a target of fans’ criticism for his penchant for taking penalties. Prall started six games this season, recording nine catches for 99 yards.