Rapid City Marshals forfeit game minutes prior in protest against Arena Football League
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RAPID CITY, S.D. — The Rapid City Marshals took a stand against the Arena Football League Saturday night minutes before its week three matchup.
The Marshals were scheduled to play at home against the Billings Outlaws. The team then informed fans shortly before kickoff that it was canceling the game because of a disagreement with the league office.
“We regret to confirm the cancellation of tonight’s game due to the continuous ongoing issues within the AFL and their inability to meet the commitments made to the owners, teams, players and coaches. All ticket holders will be refunded for this evenings game. As we have more information we will share it in the upcoming days.” The post stated.
According to its local station KOTA, the players refused to leave the locker room until they were paid their full salaries.
The Outlaws were awarded a 2-0 win as a result of the forfeit and remain undefeated at 3-0 this season.
Outlaws owner Steven Titus, who has openly criticized Commissioner Lee Hutton III and called for his resignation, shared a statement with fans in solidarity with the Marshals.
“[The Marshals] refusal to play is due directly to the incompetence, lies and deceit by the current AFL front office,” Titus said. “This is exactly why I made the statements I made last week to avoid this type of incident and have immediate change in the AFL front office. This is an absolutely embarrassment to the Outlaws organization and I can promise that I will do everything in my power to ensure this does not happen again. I am absolutely disgusted right now. Our fans, our players, our coaches and our families deserve better.”
The AFL did not share a statement about the cancelation.
Marshals wide receiver and jack linebacker Tim Lukas spoke out in support of his teammates and players around the league on his Instagram page a few days prior to the game.
“While I haven’t officially asked for my release from the Marshals, I know that I can’t stand by watching my brothers, my teammates, players across the league suffer and look the other way,” Lukas said. “We as men all deserve to have the security of our work terms valued. Guys who have financial responsibility to their family and loved ones as well as their self and their dreams, can not devalue ourselves as people hoping things can get better, we must make them better.
“If by speaking out I lose my job or another opportunity in the AFL, so be it. I’d rather stand by my morals and integrity than allow corruption at the top to win.”
This remains a developing story and more details will be released as it becomes available.
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[…] players continue to voice their frustration over claims they are not getting paid. On May 11, the Marshals forfeited its home game against the Billings Outlaws because players refused to leave the locker […]