It was early Monday morning, according to a report by the Winnipeg Sun, that receiver, Kenny Lawler was arrested for suspicion of driving a motor vehicle while impaired. This was after a small accident and after authorities arrived to the scene.
The Blue Bombers made this official statement:
“Kenny informed the team today of his arrest for operating a motor vehicle while impaired early this morning. Upon further investigation, the club has suspended Kenny for Friday’s game and has reported the incident to the league office. We take this incident very seriously and have spoken at length with Kenny throughout the day. Kenny recognizes the seriousness of the situation and that this type of behavior is unacceptable and inexcusable. He has agreed to seek assistance as it relates to alcohol abuse, and has cooperated fully with police on the matter.”
via bluebombers.com
The fact that the team has reported the incident to the aforementioned “League office” may suggest further punishment to be doled out to Lawler by the league themselves, and that may lead to more suspensions or worse, depending on how they see it, apparently.
In the past, these incidents were very common for those in the public eye: artists, athletes, celebrities, and eyes were rarely batted, but in these sensitive times, a worse punishment may be imminent, unfortunately, despite how cooperative he’s been.
According to CBC, though, Lawler has decided to be more than cooperative with the authorities (apparently has been since the incident was reported), and has furthermore agreed to get help in terms of issues with alcohol abuse – this also evident in the team statement (above) – which at this time, seem to be what led to the accident and his impaired driving.
At this time, narcotics don’t seem to have been involved.
Kenny Lawler made big news in the season opener, he having a tremendous game. He had a total of 4 catches for 69 yards, and an impressive 2 touchdowns during that first game of the season against the Tiger-Cats. That first game of the CFL season finished 19 to 6, obviously in favor of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
As was reported by Sports Illustrated at the time, Lawler made statements after that game all those weeks ago, quite obviously looking forward to the rest of the season. He said at the time:
“…It felt good to be out there…It’s somewhat of coming-out party. I felt like I left some things out there, some things that I can improve on always. Like I said, I hold myself to the highest expectations, the highest standard…”
via Sports Illustrated
QB, Zach Collaros praised his teammate at the time as well:
“…Kenny’s just an amazing talent in general…”
via Sports Illustrated
Lawler played at Cal, having quite the successful number of seasons with the team, and was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 2016. He sadly did not play any official games with the team, he finally being drafted to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2019.
Specific details of the suspension state that he was suspended from Friday’s game only. If he will be suspended from future games beyond that remains to be seen as of this writing, and many are awaiting the decision of the league officials on that front for sure.
It was after their successful game last week against the BC Lions (a 30-9 victory), that Lawler had this to say:
“We put the league on notice…Best receiver-quarterback duo in the league.”
via Winnipeg Sun
According to the Winnipeg Sun, Lawler leads the league with 45 catches for 703 yards.
NEXT: Winnipeg Blue Bombers Enjoy 7th Victory of the Season—Mid-Season Bombers Report
So, he will not be with the team when they face the Edmonton Elks this Friday at 8:30 PM EST. No details yet, and as of this writing, on who will be replacing him. But it looks like only one-half of the aforementioned best “receiver-quarterback duo in the league,” Nic Demski, will be flying solo against the Elks, or rather with a new partner in crime.
