Blizzard Announce Player Suspensions
May 11, 2011 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Green Bay Blizzard News Release
Green Bay, WI: Due to the on field incident that occurred during the May 7th game between the Green Bay Blizzard and the La Crosse Spartans, the Blizzard announce they will be handling disciplinary actions prior to any official IFL rulings. The Blizzard announced the suspensions Tuesday; two days after four Blizzard players and two La Crosse players were ejected from Saturday night's 44-21 Blizzard victory over the Spartans. Wide Receiver Robert Garth has been released by the team and Chris Bell has been suspended for the remainder of the season. Safety Arkeith Brown and Defensive End Jeremiah Price have each been given a one game suspension.
Head Coach Rik Richards released this statement, "As an Organization and as the Head Coach of your Green Bay Blizzard, I am extremely disappointed at the actions of a few of our young men on Saturday night. We do not condone nor want our young fans to see the unsportsmanlike play witnessed by the 4,000 strong that were at the Resch. So it is with great disappointment that I release Wide Receiver Robert Garth, Suspend Wide Receiver Chris Bell for the rest of the season, and also suspend Safety Arkeith Brown and Defensive End Jeremiah Price one game. James McClinton, Cody Faulkner, and Aaron Bryant will also be fined an undisclosed amount." Richards went on to say, "We are committed to bringing you affordable family fun and that should not include fights and flags witnessed by all Saturday night. We will replace these young men with some great athletes, and continue to build on our 1st place team here in 2011. Thank you for all of your support, and we cannot do it without your support! You are our 9th man! Go Blizzard."
On behalf of the ownership group, Chief Operating Officer Art Clarkson said, "We support Coach Richards 100% on the decisions he has made, and moving forward with this matter we fully support him in all decisions that he will make." He continued to say, "The Blizzard is class organization and do not condone any of the actions displayed by our players on the field, and keeping in line with that standard, the decisions Coach Richards is making are exactly how we feel this matter should be handled."
The Blizzard will head to Sioux Falls on Sunday to take on the 9-0 Storm with kickoff set for 2:05pm. This will be the first match-up between Green Bay and Sioux Falls.
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