Kickers Sergio Castillo, Brett Lauther, Sean Whyte and Lewis Ward were fined by the CFL on Friday after publicly speaking out on the league鈥檚 use of chipped footballs on field-goal attempts.
Castillo took issue with the chipped balls in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers鈥� season-opening 27-12 home loss to the Montreal Alouettes on June 6. Castillo, who made over 90 per cent of his attempts in 2023, missed two of three field goals he tried in the game as well as a convert.
Afterwards, Castillo contended the chips 鈥� which collect statistical data for the CFL 鈥� impacted the ball鈥檚 trajectory and made it difficult for kickers to do their jobs.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know where to aim,鈥� Castillo told reporters after the game. 鈥淓very time I鈥檓 out there, I鈥檓 literally praying the Rosary.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know where to aim.鈥�
Lauther, Whyte and Ward all took to social media to come to Castillo鈥檚 defence. Shortly afterwards, the CFL said there was no evidence the chips negatively impacted the balls but did amend its rules to allow teams to determine before games whether their punters and kickers would play with chipped footballs or those without chips.
The league put microchips into its footballs this season to help generate real-time advanced statistics. It did so in some games last year, but none were used in kicking situations.
But the league will continue using microchip-implanted balls this season and revisit their usage before the 2025 campaign.
On Friday, Castillo was fined for violating the CFL鈥檚 code of conduct. Lauther, Whyte and Ward were all disciplined for breaching the league鈥檚 social media policy.
Ottawa punter Richie Leone was also fined, but for a 鈥渢ourist hit鈥� 鈥� a type of unnecessary roughness foul 鈥� on Winnipeg defensive back Marquise Bridges in the Renegades鈥� 23-19 win June 13.
Saskatchewan defensive lineman Micah Johnson was disciplined for contravening the CFL鈥檚 code of conduct and verbally abusing an official in the Riders鈥� 33-30 road win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday night.
As per league policy, the amounts of the fines was not disclosed.
The Canadian Press
