Charleston Hughes was contrite when he met the media Wednesday, one day after it was revealed that he was facing impaired driving charges.
“At this point, the only statement I really have is to apologize to my teammates, my fans and the staff and the organization,” the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defensive end said following a closed practice at Mosaic Stadium. “It’s kind of embarrassing to go through a situation like this.
“Really, we’re supposed to be focusing on football right now and when something like this comes up, you really feel like it takes away from what we’re supposed to be focusing on. I’m just trying to handle everything the best way I can, take all the legal advice that I’m given and really just try to focus on the next move.”
According to media reports, Hughes was arrested in Regina on Oct. 11 and charged with impaired driving and failing to provide a breath sample for analysis. His next court appearance is set for Oct. 31.
“I’m kind of in an embarrassing moment, an embarrassing spot,” Hughes said. “I’m really just trying to focus on this next game coming up and really just trying to keep my mind in the right place.”
The CFL’s Roughriders are to visit the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday (5 p.m., CKRM, TSN). It’s unknown if Hughes will face any repercussions before that game is played.
Saskatchewan head coach-GM Chris Jones said Wednesday that he received all the details about the incident on Tuesday. He met with Hughes to discuss the situation and will continue to do so.
“As an organization and (for) me personally, it’s an unfortunate event,” Jones said. “It’s something that we take very seriously. Charleston knows the situation and the magnitude of it. It’s something that we’re still gathering information on at this time.”
Asked if the 34-year-old defensive end will play in the future, Jones replied: “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, when we’ve got all the information.”
“It’s not like we face this every day,” Jones added. “Different people have handled it in different ways. We’re gathering the information as we go.”
On Feb. 2, Calgary traded Hughes to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who in turn shipped him to Saskatchewan. The 11-year veteran has started every game for the Roughriders this season and currently leads the CFL with 15 sacks.
Jones noted that the league doesn’t have a code of conduct to determine how teams should deal with such situations, so the Roughriders will handle the Hughes matter “as an individual event.”
“You don’t have to deal with it every day, so you don’t know exactly what to say but you know where you stand on it,” Jones said. “As an organization, we’ve got to make sure that we gather all the info before we act on it.”
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Jones told reporters that he also had discussed the topic of legalized marijuana with his players Wednesday.
His hope is that the Roughriders will be smart when it comes to cannabis.
“Marijuana is legal, but as a professional football player, cigarettes have been legal for 100 years but you wouldn’t go smoke two packs of cigarettes prior to the practice …,” Jones said. “People are going to do what they do and we certainly hope that our guys use discretion.
“We’ve got young men and they’re faced with a lot of things,” he added. “We hope that they make the right decisions.”
The use of recreational marijuana became legal in Canada on Wednesday.
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On the football field, the Roughriders got their second look at first-round pick Dakoda Shepley on Wednesday.
Shepley, whom Saskatchewan selected with the fifth pick overall in May’s 2018 draft, arrived in Regina on Monday and was placed on the Roughriders’ practice roster. He was more of a spectator than a participant during his first workout with the team Tuesday.
The 23-year-old offensive lineman was on the field again during Wednesday’s closed practice and, according to Jones, was impressive.
“He’s in really good shape and he looks on top of his game,” the head coach said. “He’s a guy who will definitely be able to play in this league.”
The Roughriders drafted Shepley even though he already had signed with the NFL’s New York Jets. The former UBC Thunderbirds star attended the Jets’ training camp and was cut at the end of August, but he spent the past month and a half training in case another team called.
As a result, Shepley arrived in Saskatchewan in fighting trim.
“A lot of guys when they come in — especially the big guys — they’re not in great shape and it takes them a while to learn the speed of our game,” Jones said. “He seems to be on top of it.”
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The Roughriders’ offensive line will have a new look Saturday in Calgary, but not because of Shepley.
Josiah St. John is slated to start at right guard in place of Dariusz Bladek, who suffered a season-endi
ng knee injury during Saturday’s 31-0 loss to the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
St. John, who had been serving as the team’s sixth O-lineman, earned the start Saturday with a showing in Winnipeg that drew a passing grade from his coaches.
“You didn’t see his guy running by him and making plays,” Jones said. “(For) an offensive lineman and a DB, that’s how you know if they’re playing good or bad is when you notice them negatively.”
