The CFL says it’s keeping an eye on Khalif Mitchell, the defensive lineman recently signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders to its practice roster who has a history of posting anti-Semitic tweets.
CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge issued a statement Sept. 1 saying the league and Roughriders management will monitor “any commentary [Mitchell] may make as a member of our league” and that any behaviour deemed inappropriate will result in Mitchell’s immediate dismissal from the team.
“There is absolutely no place in our league for commentary used to divide or disparage people on the basis of their religion, race, gender or sexual orientation,” Orridge said.
“Our social media policy expressly prohibits a current player, team or league employee from using social media, including the retweeting or reposting of someone else’s comments, to condone discrimination, harassment or violence.”
Mitchell, 31, last played in the CFL for the Montreal Alouettes in 2015, when he also found himself in hot water for his anti-Jewish statements on Twitter.
He was signed by the Roughriders on Aug. 31. That day, media outlets across the country reported that as recently as two weeks prior to being signed, he had unleashed another string of anti-Semitic tweets and retweets.
One of them declared that the Islamic State is “really a Zionist controlled terrorist organization run by Jews.”
Another tweet, which Mitchell wrote on July 27 in response to an article titled “Zionism Goes from Bad to Worse, Taking Judaism with It,” reads: “Zionism isn’t bad to worse. That’s like poop to Dung. It’s the smell that’s the worse.”
Mitchell’s anti-Semitic tweets last garnered attention in the spring of 2015, including one retweet of a link to a Holocaust-denial video. He was subsequently fined by both the CFL and the Alouettes.
The two-time CFL all-star, who has also previously played for the B.C. Lions and the Toronto Argonauts, issued an official apology at the time in a joint statement by the CFL Players Association and B’nai Brith Canada, in which he said he’d agreed to work with B’nai Brith to become educated about the Holocaust.
He said he “fell into a trap by watching that [Holocaust denial] video” and that “this is a learning moment for me.”
Mitchell never followed through on the pledge, however.
B’nai Brith’s spokesperson Marty York said B’nai Brith CEO Michael Mostyn had spoken directly to Mitchell, as well as to the CFLPA, the commissioner and Alouettes management, and that Mostyn was “fully prepared to meet with [Mitchell] in Montreal or wherever… [but] while Mitchell said he would welcome that, he never went through with it.”
In June 2015, Mitchell was let go by the Alouettes, and York said that’s likely why the player never followed up.
On Aug. 31, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) issued a statement condemning Mitchell’s use of Twitter to spread anti-Semitism.
“Clearly, Mitchell has not learned from his past mistakes,” said CIJA CEO Shimon Fogel.
CIJA’s director of communications Jordan Kerbel said he spoke to Roughriders coach and general manager Chris Jones, who told him he hadn’t known about Mitchell’s more recent Tweets when the player was signed, and Jones assured him the team’s management would investigate the matter.
“He and the rest of the team are taking this very seriously,” Kerbel said.
Jones could not be reached for comment, but after practice on Sept. 1. he told reporters: “We’re here to play football. If there’s anything that’s said, then Khalif won’t be here,” the Globe and Mail reported.
Speaking to reporters himself after practice, Mitchell said there have been “a lot of misinterpretations about myself that were far-fetched,” the Globe reported.
Mitchell has been the subject of controversy both on and off the field for the past several years. In 2012, he was suspended for two games without pay after he hyperextended the arm of an Edmonton Eskimos player. In another incident, he was fined for making throat-slashing gestures.
Later that same year, Mitchell was suspended for one game for racist remarks he made on Twitter. In a post about the 2012 U.S. presidential debate, he used the slur “Chinks” to refer to people of Chinese descent. Mitchell later apologized, saying that he “never knew ‘Chink’ was racist.”
