Tempers flared and fists flew for members of the 0-5 Hamilton Tiger-Cats Tuesday as a brawl broke out at the team’s practice.
This photo from Ticats beat reporter Drew Edwards shows two separate scrums in what he described as a “large scale brawl.”
“It started when quarterback Zach Collaros got into an altercation with a defensive player that led to some pushing and shoving,” Edwards wrote. “On the next play, all hell broke loose.”
Fights like this are common during training camp but for it to happen mid-season is a clear indication of frustrations boiling over.
Over the weekend the team was walloped 60-1 by the Calgary Stampeders, a game head coach Kent Austin called a “a humiliating loss” before adding that how his team responds was “going to be an indication of the quality of men that we have.”
Austin downplayed Tuesday’s tussle.
“Listen, it’s no big deal,” he told reporters after practice concluded. “Things happen and emotions get out of control sometimes. I’ve been on teams that fought a lot more than this team ever has in five years so the guys handled it well after it was broken up. They’re close so we’re not worried. Don’t make too much of it.”
The Ticats have been outscored by their opponents 201-90 through five games and are preparing for a Friday night showdown against the 5-0 Edmonton Eskimos.
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